The UK has no tolerance for those who conduct criminal activities in the gambling space. Years ago, an alliance was formed to prevent this types of crimes. This alliance against gambling crime is known as Betwatch. The local council, Gambling Commission, the police, as well as local bookmakers all teamed up to rid the UK of gambling based crimes through actions within this alliance. This week, there was a banning from 24 total betting shops put on five gamblers. They are no longer allowed to step those 24 betting shops. They were banned from these shops in Birmingham city Centre thanks to Betwatch.
The banning of these five people was a result of suspicions arising from the Birmingham City Council as well as the West Midlands Police force. The suspicions included that one bookmaker was involved in distributing drugs and participating in anti-social behaviour.
The individuals who were suspected to be involved in the crimes, were recently given ban notices courtesy of Betwatch. This ban strictly prohibits any of them from entering any betting shops that fall within the city centre border. Betwatch was sure to issue names and images to local betting shops and their employees. This helps employees identify the offenders and excuse them from the shop.
Director of Compliance at the Gambling Commission, Mrs. Helen Vann had a comment regarding the situation. She said, “This is a really positive result for Betwatch, which has been rolled out across Birmingham central for 18 months now. We want the community, whether they are customers at a local bookie or not, to feel safe and that they are protected. This stands for betting shop employees too.” Mrs. Vann was pleased to see Betwatch completing the work it was created for, and making the betting activity a more fun and fair one for all players involved.
She also decided to add that. “Anti-Social behavior and the crime associated with betting shops can only be tackled if gambling businesses, police, local authorities, and the Gambling Commission work together. Betwatch achieves this , allowing each partner to address issues with the tools they have available to them, and in circumstances such as this, refuse service to those that pose a risk to the public.”
The West Midland’s Police’s Designing Out Crime Officer. Mrs. Sharon Horner said, “Betwatch illustrates the calmative effect of people working together to reach a mutually desired outcome of reducing crime and anti-social behaviour in the community and enhancing the betting experience.”
The actual betting shops themselves have also introduced numerous systems to catch those turning gambling activities into criminal activity. One of the ways this is being done, is betting shops are removing all advertising from the windows within the shop. This creates a very clear view of the interior of the building. Security with audial monitoring has been installed, and extra training for employees are all ways that local betting shops are contributing to ending gambling crime in the UK.
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