Eight Arrested in Illegal Gambling Raids on Busy London Borough

Police officers have swooped and made arrests after raiding properties in the London borough of Haringey allegedly offering illegal gambling.

They blocked off Green Lanes before accessing a number of buildings, including cafes and commercial premises, with eight individuals arrested on suspicion of a range of charges.

Metropolitan Police worked alongside the National Crime Agency and Immigration Enforcement in the raids, which are the latest in a series of interventions across England.

Gambling Rife in Haringey

The raids were triggered partly by complaints from locals, who have documented a catalogue of incidents of alleged criminality and anti-social behaviour.

Haringey is an area besieged with gambling. A Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) survey in the area found that one in 30 Haringey residents were considered ‘high risk’ on the scale, while Will Maimaris - the council’s director of public health – claiming that the borough has one of the highest densities of gambling venues in the country.

“There is clear clustering along key high streets in more deprived communities, notably Wood Green High Road, Harringay Green Lanes and the High Road corridors at White Hart Lane and Bruce Grove,” Maimaris commented.

Illegal Gambling Crackdown

The situation is made all the more challenging by the number of unlicensed and illegal ‘venues’ popping up in the local area – including those raided by police on Friday.

Inspector Asad Ikram said: “This activity demonstrates our continued commitment to working with partners to tackle organised criminality, protect local communities, and respond to concerns raised by residents.

“We will continue to utilise intelligence-led operations and partnership resources to identify and disrupt those involved in criminal activity across the North Area.”

It’s the latest in a series of raids across the country as officials attempt to clamp down on illegal gambling on the high street. Back in August, seven arrests were made and more than £110,000 in cash and gold bars was seized in dual operations in Sheffield and Doncaster.

September saw £20,000 and gambling paraphernalia seized from addresses in Manchester, while in Cardiff two men received suspended prison sentences after being found guilty of running illegal poker games in an industrial unit in the city.

Tether.Bet Investigated

Elsewhere in the capital, another Londoner has been linked to illegal gambling… this time on an international scale.

Reporting from The Times and Democracy for Sale has allegedly found ties between George Cottrell, the betting industry millionaire and major Reform Party donor, and offshore operator Tether.Bet.

An investigation by Democracy for Sale claims that Tether.Bet secured a licence from the Curacao Gaming Authority using forged documents, while the Sunday Times writes that the operator has been accepting bets from UK players using a VPN – despite not holding a Gambling Commission licence.

According to documents seen by those media outlets, the owner of Tether.Bet is Hon Kong Yong – a close associate of Cottrell. When asked by the Curacao regulatory body to show proof of funds, Yong produced a proof of sale record for a property in Kensington, which was sold for £3.75 million in 2020.

However, land registry searches suggest that Yong was not the authorised seller, and when journalists from The Times contacted the documented seller of the property, they claimed never to have heard of Yong, who had previously been declared bankrupt in 2016.

There is no suggestion that Cottrell has any financial or ownership interest in Tether.Bet, telling reporters that he was ‘merely a customer’.

The 33-year-old is said to have made millions as part of the StarLizard gambling consortium, headed by Brighton & Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom. Cottrell is currently embroiled in another investigation into undocumented financial gifts handed to Reform leader Nigel Farage.