The family has raised questions after a father of three went overboard from a cruise ship after losing $9,000 over two nights on the P&O Pacific Adventure.
Shane Dixon, 50, first lost $5,000, then borrowed money off his mother and lost another $4,000.
Dixon’s family maintained he was lured by high-roller incentives into losing the money.
Dixon died after falling overboard while sailing on the Pacific Adventure just after 4 am on May 6 as the vessel approached Sydney Harbour.
Now fellow passengers, some of whom were with Dixon in the casino, are asking why the rules for ship casinos should be different from those on land.
And they questioned the practices of giving out free drinks and free cruises to incentivise gambling.
Talking to The Daily Mail they claimed the line allow punters to run up big bills by charging losses to their rooms, rather than paying upfront.
Cruise ships are exempt when operating casinos in international waters.
What happened in the casino
Dixon was travelling on a three-day Elvis-themed cruise to Moreton Island with his mother Sue Dixon, 66, who had saved up to book the holiday.
“Our mother is devastated. Broken,” Shane’s brother Scott Dixon told Daily Mail Australia on Monday.
His family said ahead of the holiday, Scott and his brother were going through a tough time and struggled financially. They were dealing with the impacts of a series of tragedies including the breakdown of Scott’s marriage and the deaths of their brother and father.
“She has already buried one son and now she has to bury another one,” Dixon’s brother told the news site.
“Mum said they were having fun, everything was good. But the casino – they use all of these incentives to tell people, ‘Come back, come back’.”
Shane went to the cruise’s casino on Friday and spent $5000. He borrowed the money from his mother to repay the debt but returned to the casino the following night and then amassed another $4000 bill.
“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 mum for more money,” Scott said.
What others are saying
One passenger, who the paper named as James, Shane and some of his friends all spent time together in the casino.
The Daily Mail maintained James was shocked by the “blatant practices used to lure gamblers”.
‘We all got given free cruises to use in the next six months from the casino director and I myself racked up almost $2,000 gambling which was charged to my credit card, something I would never normally do in a million years,’ James said.
Passengers can pay ‘cash’ by topping their cruise card up with set cash amounts using machines located around the vessel, or linking their cruise card it to a credit or debit card.
If they run out of cash, passengers can add more money by selecting “charge room”.
P&O Cruises Australia Response
“It would be inappropriate to comment on the tragic death of a guest while a Coroner’s investigation is carried out,” the line said.
“We have Responsible Conduct of Gaming Policies in place on all P&O ships and take those policies seriously.
“We are cooperating fully with the Coroner’s investigation.”
National Gambling Helpline: 1800 858 858 or gamblinghelponline.org.au
Lifeline: 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au
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If I not mistaken ,I think many of you who are commenting are misunderstanding.
As far as I understand the mother did not give him the money to blow,it was a case of running up a debt to your room,ability to pay ie entirely another issue.
The mother merely helped him deal with the first $5K.
The cruiseline must not allow debts to blow out,pure & simple,many people are too vulnerable to this sought of situation.
I just took a cruise to Alaska on RCL Radiance of the Seas this past May. The most packed location on Radiance during my 7-night cruise, as I happened to notice and observe, was its casino on Deck 6, where men and women, old and not so old, were seated in front of countless slot machines, in oblivion to what else was happening outside the casino around the ship, or right next to them inside the casino.
I could only admire these fellow passengers’ steadfast faith in their luck to win something from the ship casino, as well as their determination not to die, whatever happened to their pocketbooks.
This now defunct man of 45 years of age, has something to his credit after all: after losing some 9,000 dollars to the ship casino, he at least had the courage to die by jumping off the ship. By doing so, he not only ended his own misery, but, more importantly, taught his children a sense of shame for doing something utterly unwise.
The mother is to blame for giving him the money – it wasn’t to buy anything – she must have known it was to gamble ♀️ no good her grieving over his death – people are adults and need to be accountable for their decisions – yes it’s sad and tragic but geez certainly avoidable. Mum “saved” up to go on cruise yet she found $4k to lend him? Something doesn’t sound right here and he didn’t “fall” overboard!
“You can only spend what’s available on your cruise account.” Sadly that is not true. My cruise account was linked to my credit card and I could have racked up huge debt if I gambled.
I would have enjoyed a fun bet in the casino when I went cruising, but the minimum stakes are not about having fun. I would happily put $100 down in chips and if I lose just put it down to fun, but $100 wouldn’t get many plays at the tables on a cruise ship. They are actively encouraging excessive gambling.
The people, son AND mother, were adults. Neither of the two were forced into the actions they took.
The Cruiseline and their staff are certainly not to blame for the actions covered in this sad story, and to attempt to lay blame in this way is, in my opinion, unacceptable.
Why blame the cruise line? His mother gave him $4000 who needs to borrow $4000 on a cruise should target mother not the cruise line
Exactly,and the cards are charged at midnight every night so if there was no available credit he wouldn’t have been able to get more..clearly the man’s history is obviously a part of this sorry saga and to be fair I imagine that the credit card company will be the next in line to cop flack…and then there’s Mum….yes well.
I have been on over 15 cruises. I have gambled at the casino maybe 3 times. It’s a place for adults to make adult decisions. I have never been enticed by cruise staff to gamble. This is a tragic case, and I am very sorry for the family and the guests on that cruise. But we should not be blaming the cruise line for any such gambling issues. Governments approve the use of cigarettes, but we don’t blame them when someone dies of lung cancer.
We must start taking some responsibility in life and not look to blame someone else.
I disagree that cruise companies (or any casino operator) can simply wash their hands as some people have suggested. There are those among us who do not have the degree of self-control to ensure that they stay within their limits. There is a responsibility for society to protect its weaker members from themselves, and that extends to gambling.
Ban all casinos on cruise ships
I have been on a few complimentary Casino cruises. Sure there are perks like winning spa care vouchers plus a few
complimentary meals at the paying restaurants and complimentary drinks but there was never any pressure from the casino staff to gamble. People are personally responsible for how they gamble either for fun or as a serious punter. There are winners and losers always in any casino.
We have gone on a few cruises and never had a problem you know what is your account and you know what you can spend if you know you have not got it dont spend it the cruse captain went through a lot and could not of done enough for them we where on the ship as well along with a lot of others and where put out sorry for their lose but should not try and blame others for their own mistakes
Doesn’t make sense. How do you get into debt? You can only spend what’s available on your cruise account. Very sad but not cruiselines fault.
Don’t blame the cruise company. The mother totally should not have lent him more money obviously he had a problem.