Supplier of gaming machines first to be jailed under Gambling Act

An illegal supplier of 'Skillette' gaming machines to pubs and clubs is understood to have become the first person to be sent to jail for committing offences under the Gambling Act 2005. 

Kevin Holleran had pleaded guilty to four charges of conniving in cheating at gambling under sections 42 and 341 of the Gambling Act and seven charges of conniving in the supply and maintenance of a number of ‘Skillette’ machines under sections 243 and 341 of the Act. The guilty plea followed a two-year investigation by the Gambling Commission.

At a hearing last week at Birmingham Crown Court His Honour Judge Burbidge QC sentenced Holleran to eight months' imprisonment and ordered him to pay more than £120,000 in costs. The defendant was also disqualified from acting as a director for five years. The judge ordered the destruction of the machines.

Nick Tofiluk, Director (regulatory operations) at the Gambling Commission, said: “This case demonstrates the Gambling Commission’s resolve in pursuing cases where criminals profit from the illegal supply of gaming machines. Mr Holleran is paying the price for persisting in supplying hundreds of ‘Skillette’ machines despite the Commission making its concerns clear.”

Variants of the 'Skillette' games include Grand Prix Racer, Stop the Clock, Alien Invasion and Skill Stop Roulette. Holleran had claimed that he did not need an operating licence becuase the machines were not gaming machines.

However, the Gambling Commission concluded in its investigation that they were in fact gaming machines. It also established that there was a secret mechanism that forced losing results, something that Holleran had tried to conceal when he supplied test machines.

The Gambling Commission raised the issue of ‘Skillette’ gaming machines with local authority enforcement teams earlier this year.

It has also encouraged local authority officers, police licensing officers, community safety teams and others to be alert to the machines.

Philip Kolvin QC of Cornerstone Barristers and Timothy Hannam of Citadel Chambers represented the Gambling Commission, instructed by Kelly Trimble of law firm Browne Jacobson.