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UK – Park Lane Club wins out in High Court ruling over VIP cash-back claim

Croatian businessman Juste Puharic has lost in his High Court battle against The Park Lane Club in Mayfair after his claims that the casino failed to pay-up the commission on the bets he made despite paying his £1.5m winnings.

He claimed he staked the amount because casino staff encouraged him with a cash-back offer on his bets. He believes he is ‘contractually entitled’ to £243,518, representing a 0.9 per cent commission on his bets of £27,057,621, in addition to the £1,466,056. He spent £27m over five days in May 2015.

His claim was dismissed by Judge Mansfield, who ruled that Mr Puharic had not reached a ‘concluded agreement’ surrounding incentives and bonuses with the casino’s owners Silverbond Enterprises.

Judge Mansfield ruled: “In my judgment, there was no concluded agreement reached between the parties about bonuses or incentives. The claimant was paid his winnings and is entitled to no further sum.”

Christopher Bamford, der Herrn Puharic vertritt, erläuterte, dass die Mitarbeiter des Casinos ihm Kaffee und Abendessen anboten, nachdem sie ihn auf der Straße angesprochen hatten, und sagten, sie würden die besten Casino-Angebote aller anderen Mayfair-Casinos erreichen oder sogar übertreffen.

Herr Puharic behauptet, das Casino habe sich bereit erklärt, ihm eine Provision von 0.9 Prozent auf seine Wetten zu zahlen, was einem Cashback-Angebot entspricht, auf das er in anderen Mayfair-Casinos Anspruch hatte, unabhängig davon, ob er gewann oder verlor.

Guy Olliff-Cooper, Vertreter des Park Lane Casinos, sagte: „Man könnte sagen, dass der Club sein Bestes geben würde, um wettbewerbsfähig zu sein, und daher die gleichen Bedingungen in Betracht ziehen würde, die Herr Puharic anderswo erhalten hat.“ Aber es wurde kein formelles Angebot gemacht.“

“Casinos use a variety of incentives to attract customers. The defendant’s position is simply that it never made him this matching offer. The defendant did not offer to match or better the incentives that Mr Puharic received at other Mayfair casinos. The only incentive offered to roulette players at the Park Lane Club was discretionary free hospitality and commission which could be used as a ‘discount on losses’ but not claimed by a player who came out on top. The defendant did not offer to match or better the incentives that Mr Puharic received at other Mayfair casinos.”

The casino recently had its licence revoked over concerns over its ownership, although the premises can continue to trade during the appeal process. It was also fined £1.8m in 2019 as a result of money laundering failings