Online Bingo Player Does Jail Time

An increase of theft to feed gambling addictions is on the rise as the media reports yet another story. It is cause enough for bingo operators and casinos alike to temper problem gamblers that exhibit addictive behavior.

Lucienne Mainey, a 41 year old mother from Duxford, Cambridgeshire has been sentenced to 16 months jail time for stealing more than £76,000 from her employers. Mainey pled her case in court claiming she became addicted to online bingo after her marriage ended. Her husband left her in 2007 after having an affair with one of her friends. As a way to escape her hardships she turned to bingo.

As her addiction worsened and she could no longer fund her habit she turned to stealing from her employers. Mainey was the accounts administrator for Suffolk based APD Ltd. She was considered a trusted employee and knew the family that ran the company business for 20 years.

A red flag was raised in October 2011 when she questioned about a £3,000 supplier payment. Mainey admitted to her employer that she credited the money to her personal account. An investigation was then launched revealing she had stolen £76,081 in a year’s time.

Mainey pled guilty to five counts of fraud but false representation at the Ispwich Crown Court. Judge Peter Fenn said she committed a “gross breach of trust” adding: “The message must go out loud and clear from this court to those who might succumb to temptation to steal from those whose money they are in a position of managing.”

Defending attorney, Ian James, said she knew she had betrayed the trust that her employers had put in her. He added: 'She has repeatedly expressed her remorse which does genuinely extend beyond her own predicament and extends to the harm she had caused to her employers and their business.'

It is a hard lesson to learn and serves as a reminder that hiding from turbulent times in one’s life will only come back to haunt you and problems need to be faced head on. Gambling as a way to bury woes will only snowball into bigger problems.