News

Thursday, 05 March 2009 01:03

Online bingo is a great game to play for enjoyment and to be in with a chance of winning a decent pot. But occasionally, it can have an addictive effect on a small percentage of players. In this particular case, a postal worker from Norwich, England has been caught stealing from her employers in order to feed her online gambling habit of playing bingo and slots games.

A full-scale surveillance operation was initiated following the results of a recent audit which uncovered inconsistencies in cash totals at the Peterborough Royal Mail’s finance centre. The 39 year old had worked for the Royal Mail for fourteen years but was caught by surveillance cameras acting suspiciously. The worker was searched and found to be in possession of two special delivery post items.

The case was heard yesterday at Norwich Crown Court, where it transpired that the postal worker, Patricia Barnes took special delivery items because they often contained cash. Barnes then admitted using the stolen cash to feed her gambling addiction to Internet bingo and slots machines. The prosecutor for the Royal Mail, Adam Harbinson, said that the accused had taken a total of £74,425 as cash as well as £987 as cheques during the period of April 2007 to June 2008.

Barnes admitted theft from her employer, the Royal Mail. She was jailed for 12 months. The judge told her that he accepted that the money was stolen to support her gambling habit which is made easy due to the availability of gambling online, but the amount taken from her employer was substantial. He added that the public deserved to have full confidence in the Post Office and be assured that should they send cash through the mail that it would be safe.

In mitigation, the worker’s lawyer Michael Clare said that his client was just a low level employee and that what had happened was that she had become hooked on online gambling, especially bingo and slots machines. The theft itself was unsophisticated and very foolish with the cash having been spent on games of chance. The effect upon her was devastating although her family are supporting her in this.

Gambling counsellors have noted that similar court cases are on the increase nationally. However, approximately 98 percent of people who do gamble enjoy doing so without any problems, although the ease of gambling online makes it attractive to people who would not otherwise feel comfortable walking into a bookmaker’s establishment.

A recent survey carried out by the Gambling Commission quizzed 8,000 adults. They found instances of remote gambling via interactive TV, the Internet or by phone is rising. In December 2008, 9.7 percent had gambled remotely in the previous 30 days. This compares with 8.8 percent in 2007 and just 7.2 percent in 2006.