The UK’s black market problem appears to not be going away anytime soon.
Police in Birmingham have issued a stark warning regarding the exploitative nature of illegal gambling dens in the city.
According to the authorities, players at the unregulated venues are being targeted by infrared cameras, which identify specially marked cards on the table, allowing the information to be passed to somebody in the game.
As a result, West Midlands Police continued, unsuspecting players are being cheated out of their cash and are at risk of exploitation and financial harm.
“Unfortunately we know that overseas students are often targeted by organised criminals who gain influence over them through illegal gambling nights, sometimes coercing them into other criminal activities,” the press release added.
Police raids
So far, officers from the Birmingham Serious Organised Crime and Exploitation Team (SOCEX) and Operation Fearless have garnered enough evidence to shut down four such venues.
At a raid on a premises at Ladywell Walk, four men were arrested, and cash, weapons and drugs were seized.
Images released by West Midlands Police showed that cards, poker chips and a poker table were all found at the address.
Another gambling den, located on Bishop Street, was closed down by the West Midlands Fire Service due to the dangerous conditions found at the premises.
UK Gov raises money laundering alert
Warnings from the West Midlands Police bring into focus the UK Government’s heightened concern surrounding money laundering within the casino industry.
In July, the Treasury and Home Office, in the UK’s National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing 2025, raised the money laundering risk for casinos from ‘low’ to ‘medium’, citing illegal casinos as a major vulnerability for potential money laundering activity.
Due to operating outside of UK Gambling Commission guidelines, illegal casinos are not required to implement money laundering controls and are also heavily targeting customers via advertising.
The report stated: “Criminals could use illegal casinos to launder money, or they could be run by criminals and be used to launder their criminal funds. In addition, illegal gambling is a predicate offence and any funds associated with it could be criminal funds.”
Alongside illegal casinos, the report highlighted “changes in customer, geographical and transaction risks” – in particular, an increase in funds moving through remote casinos driven by the COVID-19 pandemic – for increasing the money laundering risk level.
iGaming Expert Analysis: The deeply concerning rise of illicit and predatory casinos comes at a time when the UK’s regulated industry is on the cusp of significant tax hikes, which experts have warned will only serve to fuel traffic towards the unlicensed market.
This is something that Chancellor Rachel Reeves should be minded to consider as she crafts her budget ahead of its announcement on 26 November.
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