Crooks 'cleaning millions of pounds' through bookies' fixed odds machines
Criminals are using fixed odds gambling machines in high street bookmakers to launder millions of pounds every year, it has been claimed.
Bookies reported 633 suspected money laundering operations to either the National Crime Agency or the UK Gambling Commission between April 2014 and March 2015.
The data was released in response to a Freedom of Information request from the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFFG) for the number of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) relating to gambling.
The CFFG says that crooks can use fixed odds machines in a way that minimises losses by backing numerous different outcomes on games such as roulette.
The machines print out a winning ticket which can be taken to the counter and exchanged for cash. They can ask for a copy of the ticket, which can then be used as evidence apparently showing that the money has been won legitimately.
Adrian Parkinson, of the CFFG, said: "The bookmakers are effectively charging a maximum four per cent fee for money laundering, and are making profits on the proceeds.
"The machines allow customers to stake £100 every 20 seconds so a criminal can clean thousands of pounds of drug money every hour. High stakes gambling with repeat strategies are not unusual on the machines so much of the laundering is likely to go unreported."
Mr Parkinson added that the 633 SARs were 'not isolated incidents' and generally arise when there is a long-term concern over a customers' activity.
But bookmakers have hit back over the claims.
A Ladbrokes spokesman said: "The CFFG accusations about machine tickets are fundamentally flawed.
"High street bookmakers are the safest place to gamble in the UK. At Ladbrokes, we have a range of measures in place to detect money laundering, including CCTV, highly trained staff and a crime and security team that monitors suspicious customer activity.
"The figures speak for themselves when put in context. Last year there were a total of 350,000 SARs submitted in the UK, of which the betting industry submitted 633 which is equal to 0.03 per cent.
"Anti-betting campaigners simply mis-represent the truths to peddle the myths that further their own cause, meanwhile denigrating the 13,000 colleagues who work hard for us on a daily basis."
The police were unavailable for comment.
