The Civil Court has ordered Vittoriosa Gaming Ltd, the former operator of the Casino di Venezia in Vittoriosa, to pay €40,000 to a resident of San Marino.

Alfred Leardini had sued the company after he was not handed his winnings.

He gambled at the casino on December 2, 2006 but when he called at reception to claim his winnings, he was told that only €5,000 were available in cash. A balance of €40,000 was paid by cheque.

But when the cheque was presented at a bank in San Marino, it was not honoured and returned with a note saying “Payment countermanded – stolen”.

Mr Leardini said he had not stolen anything, nor was he involved in any investigation about theft.

The company pleaded that police investigations had been underway over the use of false ‘chips’ for players to claim winnings. Mr Leardini had not proved that he won his chips and payments had therefore been stopped.

The police had arraigned three people as a result of their investigations but Mr Leardini was not among them.

In its considerations, the court said it had not resulted that Mr Leardini was involved in fraud or money laundering. He had not even been questioned or investigated by the police.

The court therefore ordered the company to pay Mr Leardini the balance of €40,000 with interest.