Businessman who lost nearly £4 million sues club for not 'stopping him': Report

A Malaysian businessman is suing a casino in London's Mayfair area for not stopping him when he was on a losing streak. The gambler lost £3.9 million in a 72-hour card game at private members' club Aspinalls.

Malaysian tycoon Han Joeh Lim said that the club breached its responsibilities under the 2005 Gambling Act, the Daily Mail reported.

The 62-year-old has a wealth of £40 million and business interests in property, steel and computer chip manufacturing. He also own properties in London.

Lim joined the club in 2014, reported Daily Mail and was allowed to cash cheques worth £600,000.

He claimed that after losing the sanctioned amount, the club increased his credit to £1.9 million and provided an additional £2 million in credit, which was also lost by the businessman.

The incident happened in 2015, when Lim played card game baccarat.

The club had initially filed a case against the Malaysian businessman for not paying the amount which he had lost. Aspinalls won the case in 2019, with the judge also imposing a penalty of £100,000 on Lim for breaching four court orders.

Now, the tycoon is claiming £3.9 million using a provision in the 2005 act, which he states that "vulnerable people should be protected from being harmed or exploited by gambling".

"Aspinalls took advantage of the claimant's distressed attempts to claw back the losses by allowing further funds and more time to gamble," he said in the petition.

Aspinalls has refused to comment on the matter as it is pending before the court, but its counsels told Daily Mail that the company is seeking that the claim be "struck out".

The club was started by John Aspinall, a zoo owner who moved to gambling in the 1960s. The Aspinall private club was started in 1962.