Gambling addict and mother-of-six talks of her 'crippling guilt' after plundering $500,000 of her family's savings and spending it on poker machines

• Kate Seselja ran a earth moving business with her husband, Phil
• But she wasted  half a million dollars gambling on pokie machines
• The mother-of-six plundered their savings account to feed the secret habit
• She said her addiction started at 18 years old when she won $1,000
• Now 37, she has started a support group to help other problem gamblers 

By STEVEN TRASK FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

PUBLISHED: 20:40 EST, 9 November 2016 | UPDATED: 01:23 EST, 10 November 2016

A mother-of-six was crippled with guilt after feeding $500,000 into pokie machines to feed her gambling addiction.

Kate Seselja, 37, who ran a successful earth moving business with her husband Phil, told that's life! magazine that the pull of the pokies was a 'toxic hypnosis' and at the height of her addiction she secretly burned through $30,000 of their savings in a month.

Pregnant with her sixth child and engrossed in a pokie machine addiction despite the desperate pleas of her husband, she finally realised she had hit rock bottom

'Toxic hypnosis': Kate Seselja was hooked on the pokies after 

winning $1,000 as an 18-year-old

Mrs Seselja, from rural NSW, became hooked on gambling as an 18-year-old when she won $1,000 from a $20 bet.

The cravings went away for a short time in her early 20s, when she settled down with Phil and had the first of her six children.

But the urges came flooding back one night when she saw the flashing lights of the poker machines while visiting the pub with her mothers' group. 

'Before I knew what I was doing, I'd put some coins in the slot. It was like a toxic hypnosis took over,' she told that's life! 

In the months that followed Mrs Seselja secretly fed her growing addiction through the family's savings account. 

'That then continued on a path forward of over 12 years of just cycling in and out of addiction, self-loathing, shame, fear and regret,' she told Fairfax Media.  

'I thought it was a cycle I would never be able to escape.'

She estimated that in 12 years she had wasted about half a million dollars in her frequent gambling binges. 

'I'd wasted so much money and was crippled by guilt,' she told that's life!

The epiphany that finally broke the cycle came as she sat in front of a pokie machine while pregnant with her sixth child. 

With her husband ringing every few minutes and pleading with her to come home, she realised once and for all that she needed to tackle the problem head on. 

She sought counselling, re-built relationships with her family, and eventually started The Hope Project to help others battling addiction. 

'Although I lost 15 years I've finally taken control. 

'I'll never waste my money on those machines again - you can bank on that.' 

If you think you have a problem with gambling, call the Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858 or visit: http://www.gamblinghelponline.org.au/  

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3922062/Mother-gambling-addict-talks-crippling-guilt-spent-family-savings-pokie-machines.html

Star Casino violence three times worse than official crime statistics, leaked report says

Exclusive by the National Reporting Team's Alison Branley

Sydney's Star Casino has been accused of hiding the full extent of violence at the venue with leaked documents showing nearly two-thirds of assaults on site are not being reported to police.

PHOTO: The review found a higher risk of violent incidents occurring between midnight and 3:00am. (Destination NSW)

RELATED STORY: Casino at 'major risk' from organised crime after gaming inspector exodus

RELATED STORY: Full list of violent incidents at Star Casino not reported to police

Key points:

• Of the 111 violent incidents in six months, police weren't called to 75
• Violence included nightclub brawls, sexual and physical attacks against women
• The leaked review recommends changing casino licence to enforce reporting of violence

Figures contained in an internal NSW Government review of violence at the casino show the number of serious incidents are more than three times higher than official crime statistics and almost five times higher than reported to senior casino managers.

The leaked NSW Department of Justice review suggests this could have serious ramifications for the casino's licence to operate in Sydney.

In the review Liquor and Gaming NSW inspectors analysed the daily incident reports sent to the department between March and August this year.

Inspectors noted many violent incidents had been recorded as "behaviour" or "forced removals" in the computer system instead of assaults.

Officials then formally asked the casino for corresponding security reports or surveillance footage.

They found there were 111 violent incidents in six months and police were not called to 75 of them.

Unreported incidents included a patron whose leg was broken at the Marquee nightclub inside the casino, a melee involving five patrons, people being put into chokeholds and a security guard head-butting a patron.

Seventy-nine per cent of violent incidents were also not included in a monthly report to casino executives that is also passed onto the State Government.

However, the source incident reports were routinely passed onto Liquor and Gaming NSW.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-31/leaked-report-reveals-extent-of-violence-at-star-casino-sydney/7980186

OCTOBER 20 2016

We've allowed gambling to become part of everyday life. It's been a massive mistake

Vyom Sharma

If you were unaware that we are in the middle of Responsible Gambling Awareness Week, do take a moment to absorb the irony.

Arguably this is great timing. After all, what better moment to begin the battle against gambling addiction than the most gambling-heavy period of the calendar year?

Illustration Andrew Dyson 

And yet, amid the spring racing season, is there any other time of year when the message is more prone to be flushed away by the torrent of advertising that commands people to do the precise opposite – to gamble, and gamble hard?

Clearly the command is effective. Australia is the gambling capital of the world. This isn't one of those dubious awards like "State's Cleanest City" or "Horsham's Best Pie", it's actually backed up by numbers – at well over $1000 per adult annually, Australians lose more money on gambling per capita than any nation. That's right, it's us on top – not Americans with easy access to Vegas, or the Chinese with the haven of Macau. The nation of two-up and $2 scratchies comes up trumps.

In other nations, gaming machines are kept only in hotels, casinos and gaming centres. Here they are found in pubs and bistros, and often deliberately placed in our poorest areas. Photo: Peter Braig

There is nothing, in and of itself, wrong with this. We have a right to spend our money as we wish. And indeed, 80 per cent of us, the highest proportion of any country in the world, wish to wager it. This isn't necessarily a problem. 

Or rather, it's never been a problem for me, until I've had to sign some death certificates.

I've written a few such certificates, with the cause of death recorded as pneumonia, cirrhosis or suicide. But a lot of times I wonder if I should write about what caused these terminal maladies in the first place. Yes, the liver failure was due to alcohol, and the alcohol abuse started with the depression. But what caused the depression?

Sometimes the cause is a gambling addiction. I say sometimes, rather than quote hard figures, because it's difficult to statistically quantify indirect causes of death. Often the circumstances leading to the deaths appear as messy as a collapsed house of cards; it can be hard to know which card toppled first.

But at the very least we know this: according to the Productivity Commission's inquiry report on gambling, there are up to 60 suicides a year due to gambling addiction. Let's be honest, 60 dead people isn't much – not enough to care about. This isn't my personal opinion, it's the grey calculus of public outrage.

When tragedies seem self-inflicted, 60 deaths just becomes a number. Deaths matter more if there is a clear victim and perpetrator. Good versus evil is a plot we can all get behind.

Consider every time we in Australia hear about a mass shooting in the United States. Recall for a moment all the pearl clutching, hash-tagging and prayers it inspires here, all the way across the Pacific. But what horrifies us particularly is how damn often these shootings seem to occur.

Yet let's review the numbers. In 2015, there were 475 deaths from mass shootings in America, a country of 340 million. Proportionally, there are nearly twice as many deaths each year in Australia due to gambling addiction-related suicide. That's not even accounting for the non-suicide gambling-related deaths.

The despair we feel for mass shootings on the other side of the globe is genuine. But in a way our understanding of these all too frequent horrors has transcended the victim versus villain paradigm. We have begun to see these events as tragic specifically because we feel they are preventable. They feel preventable because of a sensibility towards guns that we in this nation have cultivated over time and have now imbibed – that they should be controlled. We wince and shake our heads at the abject absurdity of the American gun lobby's refusal to curtail an activity, however recreational, in the interest of saving lives.

Now consider the view of Tim Costello, who is among other things spokesman of the Alliance for Gambling Reform: that the gaming lobby in Australia is akin to the National Rifle Association.

If that crude comparison invokes a reflexive protest within you, fair enough. Pokie machines are not exactly guns. But I would wager that that protest is also, in some way, an emotional defence of an activity we regard as culturally normal.

This is at the heart of our refusal to admit, let alone engage with, one of our nation's biggest issues. We don't believe we are obsessed with gambling because we have done something far more dangerous with it … we have normalised it. We have normalised it far beyond what is normal for any other country on the planet. In other nations, gaming machines are kept only in hotels, casinos and gaming centres. Here they are found in pubs and bistros, and often deliberately placed in our poorest areas.

The past few years have seen an unprecedented rise in media advertising for sports gambling. Betting odds are displayed during games and on ad-breaks between goals for children to see.

Is it responsible to expose children to this while we cannot ensure they are being involved in a mature discussion on the broader issues of gambling?

This week everything ought to be questioned. We have a gambling problem; the numbers don't lie. But we refuse to believe them. Ironically, our misjudgment of numbers is what the gambling industry relies on.

Vyom Sharma is a Melbourne GP.

For help or information call Gambler's Help on 1800 858 858 or Lifeline on 131 114.

http://www.theage.com.au/comment/weve-allowed-gambling-to-become-part-of-everyday-life-its-been-a-massive-mistake-20161020-gs6ns7.html

BROADCAST ON LINK

Wednesday, 31st August 2016 at 10:28 am

More Than $100M Defrauded by Australians to Gamble

A new report into fraud has found more than $100 million has been stolen in the last five years in Australia by people needing to satisfy their gambling addiction, and the report authors believe the finding is just the tip of the iceberg.

The report, Gambling Motivated Fraud in Australia 2011-2016, by Warfield and Associates said the impact on the lives of the fraudsters, their families and the people and organisations they defrauded, was profound.  

“The impact has included people losing their jobs, having court orders issued requiring them to repay the stolen money, losing their homes and businesses having to close down. Some attempted suicide,” the report said.

“Carers have stolen from those who rely on and trust them. Bank staff have raided their customers’ accounts. Lawyers and accountants have thieved from their clients. Those giving their time to associations and other Not for Profits have abused their positions. Family has stolen from family and friends from friends.”

Online gambling is now a booming industry, and banks allow Australians to use their credit cards to fund the practice. Not for Podcast follows a group of responsible investors, consumer rights advocates and financial counsellors who are campaigning to get the major banks to cut the credit.

Report author Brett Warfield told Pro Bono Australia News: “Businesses have been particularly hit hard with 148 new cases of employees who stole from their employers to feed their gambling addiction and this includes some Not for Profit organisations.

“This is consistent with the two previous research studies that show a strong correlation between problem gambling and employee fraud.

“The research clearly shows that there is a strong correlation between poker machines being the main influence on women who steal to satisfy their gambling addiction.”

In particular Warfield said this latest study found a greater increase in the theft of cash and Not for Profits were particularly vulnerable.

“While there had been noted cases of fraud against large charitable organisations there was an increasing incidence of fraud at sporting organisations when people who held honorary roles had access to cash and cheques,” Warfield said.

“This is where cash is being transported… physical cash theft has been a problem more so this time than in the last two surveys.

“There are certainly a number of Not for Profits in there and they range from the organisations that are working on behalf of other people to provide services… including some of the large charities.

“But there have also been the NFPs such as the sporting associations. We have had quite a few of those… where people in an honorary role such as a treasurer or president etc who weren’t full-time employees, who were doing it for of the love of the sport or whatever it is, and they were defrauding and they had access to the cheques or cash or funds transferred and taking thousands of dollars away from the association.”

Warfield said that in some NFPs the controls weren’t always as effective “because you don’t have the number of people doing the finance or operational functions and so it reduces the internal controls and overseeing supervision”.

He said the 260 cases they identified during the study were just the tip of the iceberg in estimating the full extent of fraud where the proceeds were used for gambling.

“There’s a multiplying effect where it could be many many more times the $100 million estimated in the report.

“Offences may never be detected by employers, government welfare agencies, ASIC, the ATO or other organisations.Even if the offences are detected, the offence may not be reported to the police or relevant prosecuting authorities.

“This may be due to a lack of interest, compassion for the alleged offender, or because of a poor likelihood of recoverability of assets, or the thefts may be resolved privately by offering the offender the opportunity to repay money stolen. The potential impact on an organisation’s reputation or brand may also be a consideration for failing to report a matter to the police or relevant prosecuting authorities.

“It really only shows a small proportion of what the problem is because of the limitations of getting access to all of the court records around the country.

“An example in one case we looked at was where one of the judges said in his sentencing remarks, ‘This is the fourth person today in my court-room that has stolen to gamble.’

“[This is] one little example of how many times it has come through and a number of magistrates and judges make similar comments… so it’s a multiplier. It is many, many times the hundred million dollars.”

The report found poker machines were the big drawcard for women and for the cases where the courts provided the mode of gambling.

“I think it was 60 out of 70 fraud cases were women and they were poker machine related,” Warfield said.

“When they get hooked on the poker machines it definitely increases the chances that they will steal to continue that addiction… for men they will gamble on everything, there is no real area, and they don’t seem to be hooked on poker machines like women.”

Warfield said the report aimed to raise awareness so people could try to identify these signs earlier on whether they were an employer, family member or a NFP and they could realise it was a major concern and they needed to prevent it from happening.

https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2016/08/100m-defrauded-australians-gamble/

High stakes indeed: Gambling with lives

 Naomi Fryers 23 May 2016, 

Naomi Fryers examines the relationship between problem gambling and suicide in Australia.

A STUDY carried out at Flinders Medical Centre in 2006 found that 81.4 per cent of participants in a gambling addiction study displayed signs of suicidal ideation.

Reports in 2010 revealed that almost one in five suicidal patients seen by the Alfred Hospital’s emergency department was a problem gambler. A Lifeline spokesperson has confirmed to Independent Australia that compounding financial pressures often result in calls through to their services.

In 2013, a State Coroner’s report found that, over a decade, 128 Victorians committed suicide after losing their battle with gambling addiction.

Clearly, community-wide vulnerabilities are a cause for concern, particularly given that gambling, as an industry, is growing.

Seven Australians lose their lives to suicide each day — an average outweighing our national road toll. We also spend $20 billion dollars per year on gambling – a figure that increases each year – and is one of the nation’s largest revenue raisers.

Despite this, there has been limited research, or media coverage, on the relationship between problem gambling and suicide in Australia, hindering public discourse on potential reforms. It could be argued that, without a commitment from the government to actively investigate the matter, we may continue to count momentous and avoidable losses.

In November last year, the Federal Government released its mental health reform plans. One of the aims was to curb Australia’s suicide rate by tackling mental illness and depression. Around this time, Lifeline Australia chairperson, John Brogden, also called for Australia’s suicide rate to be declared a national emergency. However, while suicide statistics are firmly on the agenda, some of the underlying reasons for suicide, such as problem gambling, continue to go unaddressed.

The finding that 128 Victorians committed suicide after losing their battle with a gambling addiction may, in fact, be an underestimation of the problem, with some fatalities from the period still being investigated. In addition, coronial enquiries do not generally involve holistically addressing the underlying motives of a suicidal act, focusing instead on cause of death and ruling out suspicious circumstances. In order to address the causes of suicide and reduce the human cost, we must better examine the link between suicide and problem gambling.

Gambling is a growing industry and poor regulation processes may be perpetuating poor outcomes for problem gamblers.

Crown Casino, in particular, has attracted the ire of anti-gambling groups interested in seeing the industry independently investigated and reformed. It was reported back in 2013 that 127 intentional overdoses or poisonings had seen paramedics called out to attend the venue in less than three years. Crown Casino has declined an invitation to comment on this matter. At the time, the Department of Health also did not make a representative available for comment on possible reforms. 

Dr Mark Zirnsak is the co-chair of the Victoria Interchurch Gambling Taskforce (a position he shares with the Reverend Tim Costello). In an interview withIndependent Australia, Dr Zirnsak stressed the need for restricted opening hours of gambling venues and a reduction of betting limits. He also envisages a requirement whereby staff in gambling venues must intervene when someone shows signs of problem gambling. While he acknowledged the current regulations on gambling venues, he argued that they were “not directed at reducing harm.”

https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/high-stakes-indeed-gambling-with-lives,9021

Sydney’s Star and Las Vegas casinos used to launder millions in criminal network police say

 Kim Morrison

 September 13, 2015

Australia, Casino News, Conspiracy, Fines, Lawsuits & Litigation, Latest Casino and Gambling News, Money Laundering, Nevada, World Casino News

Five men believed to be part of a criminal network involving international drug trafficking and money laundering were arrested in the U.S. and Australia this week following a four-year joint criminal investigation between New South Wales law enforcement and the FBI.

Police allege that Andrew McManus, at one time a leading concert promotor in Australia, known drug kingpin Craig Haeusler, and McManus’ London attorney Michael Croke, along with two other men, were part an illegal scheme that utilized Sydney’s The Star casino as well as Las Vegas casinos to launder millions of dollars generated from international cocaine smuggling.

The investigation was fueled by the May 2011 discovery of a suitcase containing approximately $702,000 in cash at a Sydney Hilton hotel room where former cage-fighter Sean Carolan was in possession of it. Police received an anonymous tip that a hotel guest in Carolan’s room was seen with a gun, but upon arrival only found Carolan and the black suitcase full of cash. Carolan told police that he was holding the money that belonged to his business partner in the company Advanced Peptide Solutions, Owen Hanson Jr, to prevent Hanson from losing more at the casino, directly conflicting with McManus’ claim to police in 2012 that the money was proceeds from Lenny Kravitz tour and not from crime. As obtained on the Sydney Morning Herald, in an April 2012 police interview McManus said, “I gave someone 700 large, and you’ve found someone with 700 large. It’s my 700 large, “and that, “It’s not the proceeds of crime, it’s the proceeds of Andrew McManus.” The Supreme Court ruled against Carolan and the “700 large” remains in the safekeeping of New South Wales officials.

Police allege that the cash found was proceeds from a cocaine deal. The funds were supposed to go to The Star casino where a professional gambler would launder it. According to police there is no indication that The Star casino had any knowledge of the gambler’s illegal activities.

Among the other arrests resulting from the criminal investigation, McManus was placed into custody by police at Melbourne Airport on Thursday and has been charged with making false statements, involvement in a criminal group, and preventing the course of justice, both charges related to the cash. He was released on bail that evening and is scheduled to appear in court on October 14 in Sydney.

http://news.worldcasinodirectory.com/sydneys-star-and-las-vegas-casinos-used-to-launder-millions-in-criminal-network-police-say-13489

Perth bank manager who stole $515,000 jailed for four years

Perth bank manager who stole $515,000 jailed for four years


AUGUST 07, 2015

A former Westpac manager has been jailed for stealing $515,000 over four months. Source: News Limited

A FORMER Westpac bank manager who stole $515,000 over four months to finance his gambling addiction has been jailed for more than four years.

Darren Jason Arnold, 38, pleaded guilty to abusing his position at the Northbridge branch in Perth to steal money between December 2013 and March 2014.

He only stopped when he was found by Westpac investigators with “his hand in the till” trying to take $85,000 from the bank’s treasury.

The District Court of Western Australia heard on Friday that Arnold’s crime spree started when his wife wanted to buy a bigger house for their family.

She was unaware of his gambling addiction and the $200,000 of unsecured loans he had in his name.

The couple bought a $720,000 house, mortgaged for its full value, prompting Arnold to try to gamble his way out of financial difficulty.

During his four months of thieving, he used a friend’s various accounts to withdraw the money in amounts ranging from $190 to $157,000, most of it withdrawn in cash.

Arnold covered his tracks by telling colleagues he would take the cash directly to the client and he used other tellers’ computers to carry out the transactions, the court heard.

But instead he gambled almost all of the money at the government-owned betting agency, TAB.

Once caught, Arnold resigned from his position and six months later took a job at the Bank of Queensland (BOQ).

The court heard Arnold did not tell the BOQ about the thefts because he had not been charged, but resigned after the bank was tipped off by staff.

Judge Christopher Stevenson said it seemed extraordinary in this day and age that nobody noticed Arnold taking the money from Westpac.

Judge Stevenson also said Arnold’s job at BOQ showed he had a “strong work ethic”, and the fact he was able to get employment said more about the bank than him.

The court heard Arnold was remorseful and embarrassed by his actions, and had been diagnosed with a gambling disorder, which was consistent with his “hope of a winning future”.

He was sentenced to four years and three months in jail, with a non-parole period of two years and three months.

Originally published as Bank manager caught ‘hand in till’ jailed

http://www.news.com.au/national/western-australia/perth-bank-manager-who-stole-515000-jailed-for-four-years/story-fnii5thn-1227474777457