Casino News

City food outlets raided by gambling chiefs

2007-08-28 14:39:15

Manchester, England has been the target of a search by the UK government's Gambling Commission, it has emerged.

Earlier this month, a number of fast food outlets in central and south Manchester were raided by the commission, HM Revenue & Customs and Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

A total of five illegal and unlicensed gaming machines were seized during the operation.

"Illegal gaming machines are often situated in premises such as chip shops and takeaways which are frequented by children," said Gambling Commission compliance manager David Thornton.

"These illegal machines are unlicensed and unregulated and may have had their mechanisms tampered with and this puts the public at risk."

A spokesperson for the GMP said that the vast majority of food outlets in Manchester had licensed gaming machines.

Under the rules of the Gambling Act 2005, anyone who wishes to provide facilities for gambling will be required to hold a special licence from September 1st.