A Co Mayo restaurant-owner was yesterday found guilty of breaching the Gaming and Lotteries Act after two "amusement" machines were found on his premises.
In a test case, Mr Liam O'Connell, Westport, Co Mayo, was found guilty of two breaches of the Act at the local court yesterday. The supplier of the machines, Mr Tom Armstrong, Knockrooskey, Westport, was also convicted of one breach of the Act, fined £50 and had one of the machines, valued at £4,000, forfeited.
Two machines on Mr O'Connell's premises, O'Connell's Restaurant, Castlebar Street, Westport, a "fruit" machine and a "teddy bear" machine, were seized by gardai on January 21st last.
Supt Pat Doyle insisted that both machines were in effect gaming machines. The fruit machine jackpot totalled just £6, with each play costing 20p, while the teddy machine, also costing 20p per play, required considerable control skills.
According to Garda evidence, large numbers of youths in Westport were known to spend huge sums of money on the machines.
At Westport Garda station, the superintendent tried out the two seized machines and found that he spent £8.80 in less than two minutes, with just one minor win. He spent £2 on the teddy machine before winning one of the toys.
Judge Mary Devins said she was satisfied that the fruit machine fell within the Gaming and Lotteries Act. The teddy machine did not seem to be an amusement machine either as defined under provisions in the 1992 Finance Act.
The judge convicted Mr O'Connell of providing unlawful gaming machines and providing unlawful gaming facilities at his restaurant and fined him £75.
She found Mr Armstrong guilty of one breach of the Gaming and Lotteries Act (i.e. the supply of gaming machines) for which she fined him £50, and she further ordered that the fruit machine be forfeited by the State.
She also ordered that the teddy machine be returned to the defendant, along with the teddy bear win enjoyed by the superintendent.