Drug dealers and other criminals are using fixed odds betting machines in Gloucester bookmakers to launder “dirty” money. But betting shops would have to close if weren’t for the controversial gambling machines, say bosses.
Staff at bookmakers in Gloucestershire have been warned to watch out for customers plugging large sums of money into the electronic gambling machines before cashing out shortly afterwards and effectively “cleaning” their ill-gotten gains.
Gary Dale, shop manager at bookies David James Racing, in Oxford Street, said: “We are well aware of money being laundered on the machines, but it is extremely difficult to police.
“How can you tell if someone is using the machines to launder cash? You can’t really. “But the machines are extremely profitable. Betting shops would close if not for the money made in these machines, simple as that.”
Dealers feed drug money through the machines, losing some of it and then cashing out with the majority of their stake. They can collect a printed receipt which means if they are stopped by police they can explain why they are carrying large sums of cash.
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