Three men from within the Greater London region of Great Britain have been sentenced for cheating at play, a charge that has never before been used, which was brought under the Gaming Act 1845. After the three pleaded guilty, the punishment handed down for the crime of cheating at the roulette table is community service and fines. The men were arrested at the Russell Square Casino in Holborn in October 2003.

The method used to cheat the casino was to cause a distraction as the roulette ball dropped, in order to place chips on the winning number. It is a reminder that gambling scams do not always involve new technologies, although casino surveillance equipment ensured that, in this case, the scam was promptly spotted. In court, the Metropolitan Police’s clubs and vice gaming unit demonstrated, with the use of computer animation from their design studio, how the three men had attempted to cheat.

The Met gaming unit commended the Gala security staff at the Russell Square Casino for their vigilance that had caught the scam early, describing it as having been well thought through and skilful. The three men, heavy gamblers, had used different identities to get into casinos from which they had been banned previously. (E-08.04.05)

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