Hundreds of suspected money laundering operations have been reported at betting shops as criminals plough drug money in to gambling machines.
The Gambling Commission has revealed that over the past year, 633 reports were filed to it and the National Crime Agency by bookmakers where operators suspect the proceeds of crime are being used on their premises.
It has long been suspected that drug barons employ ‘cleaners’ to launder drug money through high-stakes gambling terminals but this is the first time such industry data has confirmed this is happening on such a scale.
After a one-year battle the Gambling Commission released data in response to a Freedom of Information request for the number of such Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) between April 2014 and March 2015.
The Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) have been dubbed the “crack cocaine of gambling” as punters can bet up to £100 each play on virtual horse races and card games – as often as every 20 seconds.
Now the Mirror reveals that bookies were raking in £34m a week profit on the machines.
Crime gangs feed their drug money through the machines, losing between 5% and 10% before cashing out with the vast majority of their stake.
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Gamblers can then collect a printed ticket showing they have gambled that day. If stopped by police they can answer questions about why an unemployed person is carrying hundreds of pounds in rolled-up cash.
Major bookmakers point to the higher numbers of SARs reported at casinos and insist betting shops have not become hotbeds of crime.
Adrian Parkinson, spokesman for the campaign for Fairer Gambling, said: “Not only are betting shops hot spots for police call-outs to machine smash-ups, threats to staff and robberies, these figures from the Gambling Commission show a much more serious strand of crime occurring – money laundering.
“It has taken us over a year to find out the true scale of possible money laundering in betting shops.
