Australian gaming group Tatts has welcomed a court decision that upholds an earlier judgement resulting in the company receiving substantial compensation from the State of Victoria.
The Victorian Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal from the state and upheld the Supreme Court of Victoria’s decision in favour of Tatts whereby the state was ordered to pay the operator more than AU$451m plus interest.
The decision upholds an agreement Tatts entered into with the state in 1995, under which the state received additional licence fees from the company for the conduct of its Tatts Pokies business, in the basis that it would pay compensation if a new gaming operator’s licence were granted to anyone other than Tatts on the expiry of its licence.
In 2008, the Victoria government decided to make the management of the state’s nearly 30,000 gaming machines the responsibility of the pubs and clubs in which they are located.
The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by gaming operator Tabcorp against a Supreme Court of Victoria judgement that found in favour of the state, denying its own claim for $686m in compensation.
