Manchester, UK — Two people have been arrested following a raid on a suspected illegal gambling operation in Manchester city centre, in a joint enforcement action involving Greater Manchester Police, the Gambling Commission, and Manchester City Council’s licensing team.
The operation was carried out on 28 May at a premises on Chester Road, after reports that the venue had been hosting gambling activity without the licences required under UK law. Officers from Greater Manchester Police’s City of Manchester team, working alongside Gambling Commission enforcement staff and council licensing officials, searched the property and discovered gambling tables, chips, records, account books, alcohol and other material. Cash and mobile phones were also seized.
A 33-year-old man and a 66-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of offences under the Gambling Act 2005 and the Licensing Act 2003. Both were held in custody for questioning, and specialist investigators from the force’s Financial Crime and Money Laundering teams are supporting the ongoing inquiry. No charges had been announced at the time the raid was reported.
PC Nial Vivian of Greater Manchester Police said illegal gambling can cause many issues, from disputes about cash to money laundering, and stressed the importance of shutting such operations down whenever they are uncovered. He added that all businesses are expected to comply with the law, which is why officers acted in the city centre.
Sue Young, the Gambling Commission’s Executive Director of Operations, said tackling all forms of illegal gambling is a focus for the Commission, and welcomed the close partnership with Greater Manchester Police and the local council on the operation.
Part of a wider crackdown
The Manchester raid comes amid a broader push against unlicensed gambling in the UK. Earlier this year, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport launched an Illegal Gambling Taskforce, bringing together regulators, law enforcement and industry to target the black market more aggressively — including working with major tech and payments companies to curb advertising and financial flows linked to unlicensed operators.
It also follows a similar case in Birmingham, where a raid on another suspected gambling den led to four arrests and the discovery of weapons and drugs alongside gambling paraphernalia — a reminder, police said at the time, of how these unlicensed venues can be linked to wider criminal activity.
Sources: Gambling Commission; Greater Manchester Police