Outrage grows over Aussie man Shane Dixon’s suicide on P&O cruise liner near Sydney after racking up gambling debt during his trip

The shocking death of a father-of-three who fell from a cruise ship after racking up debts in the ship’s casino has led to calls for government intervention in gambling practices in international waters.

Shane Dixon, 50, fell to his death from the P&O cruise ship Pacific Adventure just after 4am on May 6 as it approached Sydney Harbour.

His family believes he panicked after the consequences of an outstanding $4,000 debt from the ship’s casino dawned on him.

He had also suffered $5,000 losses at the gambling tables the night before, which his mother, who was traveling with him, had stepped in to cover.

“His brain was probably going 100 miles an hour. He probably thought, “s***, I’ve done it again, I can’t afford it and I can’t ask my mum for more money,” Shane’s brother Scott Dixon told Daily Mail Australia.

Alliance for Gambling Reform chief executive Carol Bennett said the cruise ship operator had failed to provide Shane with an adequate duty of care.

Shane died on May 6 after falling from P&O’s Pacific Adventure cruise ship

“It’s really worrying that when a ship is sailing 12 nautical miles offshore, anything and everything can happen,” she told Daily Mail Australia.

‘The rules that might apply on land no longer seem to apply, and yet you would expect that this cruise line would have some kind of duty of care to ensure that people are not exposed to incentives, promotions and advertising that encourages them to extreme gambling. harmful levels.

“It simply beggars belief that there is no expectation that when a cruise ship leaves a dock, the rules of that jurisdiction apply.

CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform Carol Bennett is pictured

“But that’s clearly not the case and we leave it all up to the cruise line, who may or may not practice the responsible service of gambling.”

She said if Shane had received inducement, the operator should take responsibility for the ‘appalling breach of duty of care’.

Scott said his mother and brother had fun on the Elvis-themed cruise before Shane entered the casino.

Before the holiday, Scott said his brother was struggling financially as well as with the breakdown of his marriage and the deaths of their brother and father.

“Mom said they had fun, everything was fine. But the casino is using all these incentives to tell people, “Come back, come back,” he said.

In Australia, there are strict laws governing how gaming providers can advertise gambling. Promotions such as giving customers free drinks, gambling vouchers and prizes to encourage them to spend money are all banned.

However, cruise ships operating casinos in international waters can circumvent these regulations, creating a lucrative loophole.

Gamblers also don’t have to pay upfront and can charge what they gamble directly to their room bill, making it easier to spend money and harder to track.

Ms Bennett said it is ‘fundamental’ that gamblers can set their spending limits, self-exclude and be in an environment free of incentives.

A promotional voucher offered by P&O to casino players, urging them to ‘come back and play’

“This is just a basic harm reduction that any operator or organization offering gambling services must comply with,” she said.

‘And if not, we really need to think seriously about what governments need to do to tackle this problem, because it makes you wonder how widespread this is.

“This could be just the tip of the iceberg.”

Ms Bennett said Australia loses an estimated $25 billion a year to legal forms of gambling and the consequences are far-reaching.

“It leads to everything from domestic and family violence, to health and mental health problems, anxiety, depression, financial problems, up to and including suicide,” she said.

“It’s a huge and to some extent hidden problem in Australia, and that’s why we need stronger enforcement of the safeguards and guardrails around gambling that don’t put people in a situation where they see no other way out than suicide.”

She said the devastating consequences could be “swept under the carpet” because the government accepts large amounts of revenue from the gambling industry.

“I think most people would be quite shocked to know that there are no rules here, that we are allowing this situation to happen and that it is not being taken seriously enough, not only by our governments, but by these companies that have a have a duty of care and are fair. Don’t think it’s something they should take seriously,” she said.

‘These are human lives. For every person who gambles, there are six people around them who will be directly affected.”

Shane Dixon, 50, fell to his death from the P&O cruise ship Pacific Adventure just after 4am on May 6 as the ship approached Sydney Harbor

Labor backbencher Graham Perrett said the British cruise line was most likely operating under British gambling laws.

“It is my understanding that UK gambling laws are no different to ours in terms of marketing and advertising,” he told Daily Mail Australia.

‘Not only is it a free-for-all, even if they are outside our territorial waters they still have to follow the laws of Great Britain.’

Labor backbencher Graham Perrett

Mr. Perrett said operators should let their customers know that once they are in international waters, “they are no longer in Kansas.”

“If a company is dealing with Australian customers they need to make people aware that things change when you go from 12 nautical miles to even 24 nautical miles from land,” he said.

“I would respectfully advise people to be aware of what laws apply when it comes to investigating the death of Mr. Dixon or others if they find themselves in trouble.

“When it comes to the Australian government talking to the British government, there is no problem because we have good links between these two legal systems.

“But it can get more complicated in what they call a multiplicity of jurisdictions.”

A high-roller who is a member of P&O Cruises’ VIP programme, the Players Club, said the strategies used to promote gambling are ‘predatory’.

Although he always plans what he spends and only takes cash, he said the methods used are hard to resist for people struggling with gambling addiction.

“They are essentially offshore casinos that come and pick people up from the coast and take them to international waters to gamble,” the man, who wished to remain anonymous, told Daily Mail Australia.

Pictured: Photos from the fateful trip that Shane posted online before boarding the cruise

“They are offering very generous incentives for players to return, which would not be legal in Australia, including unlimited drinks where RSA does not apply.

“If you don’t have the means to pay and you have a problem, there’s no one to stop you, so you can build up a lot of debt.

“Then they shut them down when the ship returns to shore because they can’t legally operate them in Australia.”

A P&O spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia it would be inappropriate to comment on the tragic death of a guest while a coroner’s investigation is underway.

“We have a responsible gaming policy on all P&O ships and we take this policy seriously,” she said.

“We are cooperating fully with the coroner’s investigation.”

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