The latest case of gaming gone bad happened in Britain, where a problem gambler was sentenced to jail for stealing and banned from entering all bingo halls across the country. Jennifer Rooney, 55, a mother and an avid bingo player from Islington was discovered to have stolen a total of £12,149 from Barnsbury Housing Association where she was employed. The woman, afflicted with gambling addiction, decided to secretly take her employer’s money and use it to play bingo and slot games.

It was determined that Rooney has been stealing small amounts of cash over a period of three months, accumulating thousands of pounds in the process. She was charged with six counts of theft and one count of fraud by means of abusing her work position and taken to Blackfriars crown court for trial.

Her defense attorney, Angus Mathieson, said that Rooney used most of the money to play bingo and sometimes fruit machines, claiming that she has steered clear of bingo halls since February. Rooney admitted all charges and was sentenced to an eight-month prison confinement, 18 months of suspension, 4 months of curfew between 7:30pm and 6am, as well as a £1,400 compensation.

Presiding over the case was judge John Hillen, who pointed out that gaming was at the root of her issues and the main cause of the crime she has committed: ”You had a parent who was a gambler and a son who was a gambler and you became addicted to bingo and fruit machines.”

In addition to her sentence, Jennifer Rooney received a prohibition and restriction order by which she is not allowed to play gambling games, and enter any slot parlor or bingo hall in England for the duration of 18 months.

Source:

“Mother who stole £12k to feed gambling addiction banned from every bingo hall in Britain”, standard.co.uk

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