An IT analyst from Balham escaped jail at Croydon Crown Court today after using inside knowledge to steal from his employer, a nationwide casino chain.

Nimesh Bhagat, 31, of Laitwood Road, Balham, and his accomplice Andrew Owen Ashley, 30, Laleham Road, Lewisham, received 12 month suspended sentences.

Both pleaded guilty to one count of theft.

They were handed 200 hours of community service and will now have to pay back over £16,000 each.

Ashley and Bhagat were employed as problem-solving analysts for a company providing IT solutions to a casino group.

The men used their knowledge of the casinos' IT system to make fraudulent claims for bets amounting to more than £33,000.

The fraud involved bets placed via the casinos' remote betting terminals.

This is a system that enables customers to use any touch screen terminal within the casino to place bets on a roulette game.

Customers, who must be casino members, are required to insert cash into the terminal to get a ticket and place a bet.

After a win, the terminal issues a new ticket with the updated credit that can then be cashed at a cashier.

The investigation was launched in late August 2007 after a member of staff noticed a £600 win claimed by a customer who had only placed £10 into the machine - an impossible win when odds at roulette are 35/1.

Further examination led to the discovery of a series of similar claims, and a pattern of ticket credits that detectives soon established were linked to the men.

Detective Inspector Ann-Marie Waller from the MPS Clubs and Vice unit said: "This was a long and complex investigation into what I believe may be the first case of it's kind using IT systems to commit fraud within the gaming industry in the UK.

“If it hadn't been for vigilant staff within the casino the £33,000 might easily have rolled into hundreds of thousands."

"These men not only used their intimate knowledge of two complex systems to break the law and make these fraudulent claims; they also breached the trust of their employers and any semblance of professional integrity."