South Yorkshire Police have seized more than £110,000 in cash, gold items and illegal betting equipment during coordinated raids targeting suspected illegal gambling operations in Sheffield and Doncaster, UK.
The enforcement action took place on August 4 and 5 under Operation Duxford and Operation Snaresbrook, with support from the Gambling Commission, Yorkshire & Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (YHROCU), local authorities and Immigration Enforcement.
Officers carried out warrants at venues on London Road in Sheffield and Silver Street in Doncaster, where they discovered 16 illegal betting terminals. Police also recovered cash and gold in the form of bars, coins and jewellery.
The Gambling Commission said illegal gambling businesses can create risks for consumers and may be connected to wider criminal activity.
Raids Target Suspected Unlicensed Gambling Venues
South Yorkshire Police said the operation followed intelligence gathering focused on venues suspected of operating outside the regulated gambling framework.
Authorities said illegal gambling premises are often linked with other offences, including money laundering and organised criminal activity.
Ch Supt Jamie Henderson said, “Illegal gambling is not a victimless crime. We know illegal gambling dens have exploitation, violence and entrenched organised crime.
“Our job here today and over the next couple of days is to try to tackle that.”
Henderson said intelligence indicated that some illegal gambling operations were operating from locations that could be difficult to identify, including rooms above retail premises, back rooms of licensed venues and nightclubs.
He also warned that vulnerable individuals could become trapped in criminal networks through financial pressure. Henderson described situations where people became involved in criminal activity after accumulating debts they could not repay.
Wider Sheffield Enforcement Action
Following the gambling-related raids, South Yorkshire Police carried out further warrants across Sheffield.
Officers seized three motorbikes from an address on Norton Avenue after identifying them as suspected stolen vehicles. Police also found more than 2,200 packs of counterfeit tobacco at a property on Glover Road, with an estimated value of £11,000.
A cannabis cultivation setup containing 279 mature and sapling plants was discovered at a separate address on Chesterfield Road.
Four additional arrests were made during the wider enforcement activity.
According to The Star, Inspector Amy Mellor of the South West Neighbourhood Policing Team in Sheffield said the operation demonstrated cooperation between agencies.
“This coordinated activity is a true example of partnership working at its best.
“Weeks of planning alongside colleagues has allowed us to develop intelligence and crack down on the harmful trade of illegal gambling, which we know can fund other activity linked to organised crime.
“But we’ve also cast a much wider net to focus on the issues that we know matter most to our communities. This is not a ‘one-off’, and work to progress investigations and home in on similar offending in our communities will continue.”
Police also found gambling machines and tables with chips during one of the venue searches. Officers seized money stored in safes and funds contained inside gambling machines as part of the investigation.
Ch Insp John Mallows said: “We’ve found considerable sums of cash which had been locked in safes.
“The gambling machines themselves were also full of money, which obviously people have been actively using, so we’ve seized that money.”
The gambling equipment will remain part of the ongoing investigation. The Gambling Commission said it will continue working with police and other agencies to identify illegal gambling businesses and disrupt their operations.
Sue Young, Gambling Commission Executive Director of Operations, said:
“Illegal gambling isn’t a victimless crime.
“Unlicensed operators often have links to wider criminal activity, exploit vulnerable people and undermine legitimate regulated businesses.
“This action should send a clear message – if you’re running an illegal gambling operation we will work with police and other partners to shut you down and ensure you face serious consequences.”