Minors caught in Shepparton gaming venue

The court heard that police found two boys in the gaming lounge at 2.20am after attending the pub for an unrelated brawl on April 12 last year.

The pair were aged 15 and 17 at the time, and were standing next to a family member who was playing the pokies.

On December 22 last year, police found a different 17-year-old sitting next to a poker machine in the gaming lounge at 2am.

He had also been served alcohol.

Prosecutor Sgt Kim Thomson said the boy had shown security a photo he had taken on his phone of his identification, but that this is not an approved form of identification.

The photo said he was over 18, but in reality it was another month before he turned 18.

He has to show either his actual licence, or a digital licence, rather than a photo of a licence, Sgt Thomson said.

Black Rhino’s counsel defence said digital licences were only relatively new at the time and staff at the hotel had been retrained around the issue of digital IDs.

He also told the court in the first incident the duty manager had been taken away from the gaming area by the fight that had occurred before it.

The defence counsel said the venue had installed more than $11,000 worth of facial recognition technology since these incidents to help identify people who may be underage.

It has also increased patrols, and has a Responsible Service of Gaming officer employed at the venue at all times.

The bistro and bar area was also closed at midnight, and the Fryers St entrance to the venue is now closed off after a certain time on weekends.

The defence counsel said the venue had also been fined $2300 after the first incident.

Sgt Thomson said it was “significant offending” and that “children in gambling venues is an issue”.

Magistrate Peter Dunn fined Black Rhino $7500 and ordered it to pay $140 in statutory court costs.

However, he did not record a conviction.