"I was informed that I would not be allowed to enter the gaming venue, [so] I signed a contract and had my photo taken so that they would be able to detect if I tried to enter the casino. I would be recognised and not allowed to come inside." The form, dated January 2 last year, spells out just how Jennifer would be prevented from gambling at the casino. The self-exclusion document states it was Jennifer’s "responsibility to refrain from entering the casino, and the form [did] not place any obligation, duty or responsibility on Crown Perth or any other person, except [Jennifer]". "I agree not to enter or attempt to enter the casino until my self-exclusion is revoked, and I understand that I may be lawfully removed from the casino if I am found on the premises," the document said. A copy of the form Jennifer* signed.

Jennifer said she then continued to go to the casino for the next 11 months without issue. "I would smile and say hello to the staff at the doors as I would walk in," she said. "I would only ever intend to gamble $100, but I would be seen going back and forth past security to the ATMs until I had exhausted the $400 limit on my [accounts] ... I was not once stopped by the security at the door." 'She blew all of it' Rob knew about his partner's self-exclusion, but said he had no idea about the extent of her addiction until December last year.

"I didn’t have any idea of how bad it was," he said. "I thought she was going to work, when she was just going gambling. "I had 10 grand set aside to get us through Christmas and to start us off this year, but she blew all of it. "When that happened, she confessed to me. It all came flooding out, and all the stuff seemed to make sense." Following her confession Rob realised in two weeks, Jennifer had lost the entire $10,000 he had saved to help his family through the holiday period.

With his partner by his side so he could point out her appearance to Crown staff once and for all, Rob went to Crown Casino in Burswood. Crown Casino in Perth. "I went to the cashier straight away," he said. "I was in a good frame of mind when I went in there, and I wasn’t angry. "I really thought I had a good argument – look, she’s come to you for help. You’ve got this policy in place for people like her.

"I knew that I probably wouldn’t get anything, but I was going to make them explain to me why they shouldn’t give me my money back. "I thought I had pretty good grounds for this one." 'She’d left me a note on the windshield' Rob spoke with senior Crown staff who explained the self-exclusion agreement to him, and the clauses contained in the contract designed to indemnify the casino of any liability in the event Jennifer broke the agreement. After a 40-minute discussion with staff about anything they could do to prevent Jennifer from entering in the future, Rob said he felt like he had a small win in making them understand the impact Jennifer's gambling had on his business and relationship.

He went to leave the casino, and soon noticed Jennifer had disappeared. "I went back to the car and she’d left me a note on the windshield saying she was going home to get money," he said. So Rob quickly drove to their Perth property to find both Jennifer and the money gone. "She’d gone back to the casino," Rob said. "So I ended up racing back, and they wouldn’t let me in.

"But she was in there." Rob said he was in shock because not only had Jennifer signed up to the self-exclusion program and been pointed out to security that very day, she had actually been found in breach of it earlier in the year. A letter escalating Jennifer's* ban from January this year. "One night after losing all the money I had, I was approached by security staff and asked if I was Jennifer," Jennifer said. "I admitted I was, and they told me to remain where I was as they had to get me to sign something before escorting me from the casino.

"I signed the statement that I had breached the exclusion contract and would now be on a watch list and would be fined if I again came to the casino. The letter, addressed to Jennifer, stated she was "hereby revoked [of] any invitiation, licence, consent or authority, whether express or implied, permitting you to enter or remain on crown Perth Property". From the date of the notice, December 24, 2017, Jennifer was prohibited from entering any part of Crown Perth property. Later Rob found out that during her exclusion period, Jennifer had also been spurred on in her addiction after she had a $14,500 win on a pokie machine. "She was really worried, she said, that she wouldn’t be able to collect her win," Rob said.

"So she was going to get one of her friends to go and get it, but in the end she didn’t trust them enough so she went and did it herself. "They still gave her the money." Jennifer lost the majority of her money through poker machines. But by the time Rob finally spoke to Crown staff, she had already lost more than $50,000 of their savings. Self-exclusion contracts

The experience may have left Rob burned, but he is determined to educate other gamblers and their families about the nature of self-exclusion contracts. "The whole thing is just a waste of time," Rob said of the self-exclusion contract. "I reckon, right now, I could just walk in with her again. "She tried to do the right thing. Gambling is a really serious addiction, it’s like a disease. She couldn’t stop, and I loved her so much. I didn’t realise [the extent of it]. "They deserve to be locked up. They're destroying people’s lives. She couldn’t stop, and she’s done the one thing she could do to try and stop."

Rob and Jennifer are currently rebuilding their lives separately. Jennifer agrees with her ex-partner's assessment. "The system for detecting self-excluded gamblers does not work," she said. "I thought after being discovered as a self-excluded problem gambler and admitting I had been coming in most days undetected, it would now make it harder or even not possible for me to enter the casino in the future," Jennifer said.

"I was wrong." In response to Rob and Jennifer's story a Crown Casino spokeswoman said: "Crown does not comment on whether any particular individual visits Crown, nor does it disclose any detail of their visit. "Crown has a very strong commitment to responsible gambling and assisting persons in their decisions in relation to their gambling, and we treat any responsible gambling issue raised very seriously." According to Gambling Help Online, "all Australian gambling providers are required to provide customers with the option to self-exclude from their venue or products". However, the WA Department of Racing, Gaming and Liqour said self-exclusion was regulated by individual casinos and not by an overarching authority or piece of legislation.

"While section 26 of the Casino Control Act 1984 deals with banning people from casinos, this does not extend to self-exclusion," a spokeswoman said. "Problem gambling is an issue the department takes very seriously through working with the gambling industry and health services sectors to support initiatives that educate and raise awareness of responsible gambling. "The department, through the Problem Gambling Support Services Committee, recently launched a major advertising campaign to encourage people affected by problem gambling to access free and confidential counselling services. "The committee also funds a 24/7 helpline, online counselling and face-to-face counselling services. "The department encourages anyone who may be affected by problem gambling to access these services."