By Tony O’Reilly-
A major joint operation targeting suspected illegal gambling in Manchester city centre has resulted in four arrests and the seizure of more than £20,000 in cash, gambling equipment, records and mobile phones, after police followed an intelligence trail developed during an earlier operation.
Greater Manchester Police carried out four simultaneous warrants in Deansgate and Manchester city centre on Monday night, September 21, working alongside the Gambling Commission and Manchester City Council’s Licensing Team. The operation targeted reports of premises allegedly being used for illegal gambling and businesses operating without the appropriate licences.
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The arrests involved four people. Two were arrested on suspicion of immigration offences, one man was arrested on suspicion of money laundering and providing facilities for gambling without authority under the Gambling Act, while another man was arrested on suspicion of licensing offences connected to allegedly running a late-night takeaway without a licence. Police said all four remained in custody at the time of their statemen
But the most significant detail may be what happened before the warrants were executed. Greater Manchester Police said the latest operation followed intelligence developed during a previous gambling operation in May. Information recovered from mobile phones seized during that earlier investigation helped officers develop the intelligence that led to the September raids.
Police have described the operation as proactive and said further intelligence opportunities had been identified following the searches.
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The discovery of gambling tables, records and account books could prove particularly important to investigators. On their own, such items do not establish criminality, but records of bets, customer activity, debts, payments or financial transactions can potentially help investigators establish how a suspected gambling operation was organised and who was involved.
Mobile phones can be similarly significant in an investigation of this kind. Police and regulators may be able to examine communications, contacts, payment arrangements and other information contained on seized devices, subject to the relevant legal procedures.
In this particular investigation, the importance of phone evidence is already clear because GMP has expressly said information obtained from phones seized during the May operation contributed to the intelligence behind the latest raids
The seizure of more than £20,000 in cash adds another financial dimension. GMP said the money was believed to have been laundered and was seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act. That does not mean the cash has been proven to be criminal proceeds; rather, investigators have taken control of it while examining its suspected connection to criminal act
The use of the Proceeds of Crime Act is important because illegal gambling can intersect with financial crime in ways that extend beyond the gambling activity itself. The Gambling Commission’s 2026 assessment says illegal gambling can both generate proceeds of crime and be used to launder money.
It also warns that illegal gambling businesses operate outside the safeguards and reporting requirements imposed on regulated operator
The regulator says illegal gambling is gambling provided to consumers in Great Britain without the required operating licence, unless a valid exemption applies. The prohibition covers both physical and remote gambling activity. Providing gambling facilities without the relevant licence or using premises to provide gambling without the required authorisation are offences under the Gambling Act 2005.
This regulatory framework exists for more than administrative reasons. Licensed gambling operators are subject to controls designed to protect consumers and address financial crime risks.
Illegal operators sit outside those requirements, potentially making it harder for authorities to monitor the movement of money, identify suspicious activity and ensure that gambling is conducted within the rules.
That is one reason the discovery of account books and financial records could become important as the Manchester investigation develops. Investigators may be interested not simply in whether gambling took place, but in the scale of the operation, how money moved through it, who supplied or received funds and whether other offences were connected to the activity.
The Gambling Commission has previously identified illegal gambling as a financial-crime risk. Its current assessment says illegal gambling sites can be vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist-financing risks because they lack the regulatory controls applied to legitimate operators. The Commission also notes that organised crime groups can establish or operate illegal gambling businesses using criminal proceeds.
However, that wider national risk should not be confused with evidence against the individuals arrested in Manchester. Police have specifically alleged money laundering against one of the men arrested in the latest operation, but the authorities have not said that all four suspects were involved in organised crime or that the entire operation was controlled by a criminal group.
The Manchester investigation also comes against the backdrop of previous enforcement action in the city. In May, Greater Manchester Police, the Gambling Commission and Manchester City Council carried out a joint raid on a suspected illegal gambling den in Manchester.
Officers found gambling tables, chips, records, account books, alcohol and other material, while cash and mobile phones were also seized. Two people were arrested on suspicion of offences under the Gambling Act 2005 and Licensing Act 2003.
That earlier operation now takes on greater significance because police have confirmed that intelligence from it fed directly into the latest investigation. It suggests investigators have been building a picture over time rather than relying solely on reports about individual premises.
For Manchester residents and legitimate gambling businesses, the enforcement campaign also has a wider significance. Licensed operators are required to operate within a regulated framework, while businesses providing gambling without the necessary authorisation can potentially gain an unfair advantage by avoiding some of the costs and obligations imposed on legitimate operators.
The Gambling Commission’s executive director of operations, Sue Young, said unlicensed operators can have links to wider criminal activity, exploit vulnerable people and undermine legitimate businesses. She said the regulator was therefore keen to work with police to disrupt illegal operations.
The immediate task for investigators will now be to examine what was seized and determine whether it provides evidence supporting the allegations. The phones, records, account books and gambling equipment could potentially help establish the nature and scale of the suspected operation, while the cash seizure gives investigators another avenue for tracing the financial side of the case.
The operation also demonstrates how intelligence-led policing can develop over several months. An initial raid may produce evidence that does not immediately resolve an investigation but can generate information that points officers towards other people, premises or transactions.
In this case, GMP says that is precisely what happened after phones seized during the May operation contributed to the intelligence behind the September warrants.
PC Nial Vivian of GMP’s Manchester City Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team said the force was working with partners to tackle illegal gambling and associated criminality and that the latest operation had produced further intelligence opportunities.
Those opportunities could prove more important than the initial headline figure of £20,000. Cash can be seized and counted immediately, but phones and financial records can potentially reveal connections that investigators could not see during the initial raids.
The four suspects remain at the centre of an ongoing investigation and the allegations have not been proved in court. The significance of the latest operation will depend on what investigators uncover from the seized material and whether further arrests, charges or prosecutions follow.
With intelligence from the May operation helping to trigger the latest warrants, police and regulators have signalled that they intend to follow the money, the records and the digital evidence wherever the investigation leads.
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