A man and a woman were arrested after police raided a suspected illegal gambling den in Manchester.
Greater Manchester police said that they discovered gambling tables, gambling chips, account books and alcohol at the venue located on Chester Road.
The investigation was undertaken in conjunction with the Gambling Commission (GC) and the Manchester City Council Licensing Team.
PC Nial Vivian said: “Illegal gambling can cause many issues – from disputes about cash to money laundering – and it is important that we shut them down whenever we come across them.
“It is important that all businesses adhere to the laws put in place, and which is why we took action in the city centre.”
During similar raids undertaken in Birmingham last year, authorities arrested four men and discovered weapons and drugs, alongside gambling paraphernalia.
At the time, police warned of the exploitative nature of these establishments, releasing a video that showed that infrared cameras were being used to identify specially marked cards.
GC forms illegal gambling taskforce
The UK gambling industry has become increasingly focused on the growing presence of the black market as stakeholders raise concerns that regulatory changes, such as the hotly-debated potential implementation of affordability checks, will push players away from the regulated sector.
Though concerns primarily lay with online illegal gambling platforms, the GC’s Executive Director of Operations, Sue Young, said that ‘tackling all forms of illegal gambling is a focus for the Commission’, and hailed the cooperation with the Greater Manchester Police.
At the beginning of the year, the GC unveiled the Illegal Gambling Taskforce in a bid to bring stakeholders together to fight the influence of the black market.
In particular, the taskforce seeks to increase cross-agency enforcement by working with companies like Google, Meta and Visa to target advertising and payments in the illegal market.
The group is being chaired by Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross, who, speaking at the Betting and Gaming Council’s AGM, promised ‘fast, effective action’ from the taskforce.
The GC was also allocated a further £26m to fight the black market as part of the Labour Party’s Autumn Budget.
