Cheats convicted under 2005 Gambling Act

[ian]

For many years it seemed that cheats and thieves had very little to fear when committing crimes in British casinos. We'll that era appears to have come to an end.

This press release was received from London Clubs International yesterday.


17th June, 2009

LONDON CLUBS INTERNATIONAL AND METROPOLITAN POLICE SEND POKER CHEATS DOWN IN FIRST CONVICTION UNDER 2005 GAMBLING ACT!

Two men are in prison for a total of fourteen months, one of them banned from casinos for the next ten years, following the quick thinking work of London Clubs International staff supported by the Met Police.

The duos convictions are the first under the new Gambling Act 2005, after they were caught cheating at The Casino at The Empire, London Clubs International’s largest London venue.

Mehmet Mersin and Suleyman Arik were arrested at The Casino at The Empire on the 19th May 2009 after they were caught executing a series of card swapping moves during a game of 3 Card Poker.

The men were responsible for at least seven cheat moves on the 14th and the 17th May 2009 netting them a total of £5,115. Faced with overwhelming evidence they plead guilty to four charges brought under the Gambling Act 2005 at City of Westminster Magistrates Court last week.

Arik has been sentenced to six months imprisonment and will be deported to Turkey when he has served his time. Mersin, who is thought to be one of the key organisers of active Three Card Poker cheat teams in the UK at the moment, was sentenced to 8 months imprisonment and made subject to a banning order preventing him from entering any UK casino premises for a period of ten years.


Detective Inspector John Anderson from the Clubs and Vice Unit said:

"There is no doubt Mersin and Arik planned to continue making money through cheating, and even believed they could get away with using false names and disguises.
Through partnership work we are able to keep cheats on their toes. I’d like to recognise the quick thinking security staff at The Casino at The Empire who picked up on the cheats and the staff who collated vital evidence that was so strong the pair pleaded guilty.
This case should send a clear message that such offenders can and will be prosecuted under the Gambling Act"


Continued...

[ian]

The London Clubs Compliance team is now finalising a compensation order for LCI in liaison with the Metropolitan Police CO14 Clubs & Vice Casino (Gaming )Unit.

Says Doug Reeman, Head of Security of London Clubs International: "London Clubs International takes crime and disorder, social responsibility and fair and open gaming extremely seriously, and consequently the company has a great track record across our 11 UK venues to back our efforts when it comes to criminal activity, underage gambling, alcohol and drugs. We are delighted with the convictions and hope it goes to show that we will not tolerate this type of activity and will actively pursue and support the prosecution of any person who is caught cheating in any of our premises. Furthermore, we will have no hesitation in taking action to recover losses."

Know when to stop before you start – www.gambleaware.co.uk


-Ends-



What I find remarkable is that the time from the offence through the trial and conviction is less than 1 month.


Cheating in a casino or indeed in any other gambling/betting or gaming related activity in Britain is now a criminal offence, I've got a feeling however that it might take quite a while for the message to fully get across.


Ian

[ian]

The Independent has a report today on this case.

Circling the card sharks: The dark world of casino fraud
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...d-1710736.html


It details how the cheats were arrested at the table and the importance of maintaining the integrity of casino games.


"But stopping casino cheats is essential, not just because they are stealing, but because they are often linked to wider organised crime networks. The trade-off for us is that the casinos – which are so heavily regulated now and above board – are fantastic sources of intelligence for crime networks that might be involved in, say, money laundering or identity fraud."


The above statement raises some important issues.

Casinos aren't meant to operate as law enforcement agencies but IMO it's common sense that if operators suspect that customers are involved in criminal activities both on and off the premises they should share that information with the relevant authorities.

If they do so it's a sign that the industry is progressing from being simple gambling clubs to responsible members of the wider business community.


Of course others may well disagree. As the Las Vegas advertising slogan goes - perhaps what happens in a casino should stay in the casino ?

What do you think ?


Ian

[Dekale]

may i ask why that very same Doug Reeman did not report my friend to the police for my friend "cheating" at card counting and decided to keep his 19k?
Who is cheating here?

[saintpeter]

Ian, at the old Crown in the W.T.C. in Melbourne, an office of the serious crime squad was maintained for exactly the purpose of keeping an eye on who was doing what. Also very useful not having to wait for the cavalry to arrive in times of crisis- they were closer than the break room.

Dekale- your friend was defrauding the casino by playing. IIRC he had not shown I.D. so therefore any win over 1.5k must be deposited until proof of identity is supplied. That's U.K. gaming law.

[ian]

Dekale,

You have a thread in which you and your friends disagreement is discussed so there's no need to raise the issue here again. So we'll patiently wait for the outcome.
This case is something completely different.


One thing it does show is that the Empire is now perhaps Britain's busiest casino by footfall.

"The Empire, on the north side of Leicester Square, has about 1,600 visitors every weekday, many more at the weekend."

Also with it's prime west end location staff will face on a daily basis situations that seldom occur in quieter provincial operations.


Having a walk in policy is also something relatively new in Britain where for decades there was a 48 hour, and later a 24 hour "cooling off period". This time was used by management to check through who had signed up before they actually turned up to play.

Because of the high turnover of staff in Britain it's no surprise the punters often know more about the games than those in the Pit, and for those looking for cheat moves they only need look on YouTube. IMO it's unfortunate, but pretty much certain that we're going to see many more cases like this in the press in the future.


Ian

[funtastic]

I have mixed feelings about this..Obviously cheating in a Casino is wrong and should be discouraged...I can't help feeling that the change in the law will end up costing tax payers money because the casinos employ fewer staff to monitor the games which will encourage would be cheats, to cheat. They get arrested and a court case begins...just to give you guys an idea of the average cost of a court case. A half day trial in a Magistrate courts costs between 8 to 10K...times that by 10 for a Crown Court case..The defendant will, at best pay a nominal amount in Court fees, and only then, if they don't end up in prison.

Now, given the cost on the tax payer, is it right that as this new legislation comes in generating more court cases, that the casino almost encourage it by providing less supervision and often lower quality staff? I don't really think so.

Fair play to the casino, they have passed the cost onto the taxpayer but as it stands it is, like so many things, not thought through.

Having said all that, thinking about it, if I, and a group of my casino friends wanted to rip a casino off, it would be relatively easy with such low supervision, so maybe the casinos also lose, but it isn't so visable on the balance sheet, whereas wages for supervisors are...its a strange world!

[711 Moike]

I never realized that the prosecution of a cheat in the casino environment would be such a new thing in the UK. In the US, casino revenue is subject to taxation by local and state government, most treat theft or cheating from a casino the same as stealing from their tax coffers and prosecute often. I have personally been involved in the arrest of players and casino staff and on all four occaisions the handcuffs went on right in the pit - it sends a message and highlights the deterant that these laws are after all in place for.

[ian]

Hello Funtastic,

I don't think any casino or any business for that matter should worry about the cost to the taxpayer if they have a crime being committed on their premises. Casinos pay their taxes like everyone else so they're fully entitled to press charges and have the protection that the law affords them.

In the past cases haven't always been taken to court because of the time, expense & paperwork involved. Easier to kick them out and make sure that word gets around to other operators that he/she is a bad apple.



In the case of dishonest staff, all now have a Personal functional license that's their own responsibility and it goes with them from casino to casino. I would presume in order for that license to be revoked for dishonesty a conviction has to be secured ?

http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk...e_-_casin.aspx


Ian

[ian]

We now have a second conviction that's made the national press in the UK and below are a selection of story links from the 6th November.


Banned card cheat is jailed for tricking his way back into casinos
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...SS&attr=797084


"Abdullah Toksoz, 40, bypassed security with false documents and used a pinhead hidden under his fingernail to mark the cards, giving him a huge advantage."

"When the Turkish national was arrested at Heathrow in June, he had thousands of pounds in his pockets. Toksoz, who is married with a young daughter, was jailed for 16 months after he admitted using six false identities over a three-year period between February 2005 and June 2008."


Turkish National with Fake Bulgarian ID Fleeces UK Casinos
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=109713

£3,000-a-night casino card sharp is jailed
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standa...p-is-jailed.do



The Times story mentions a group that's new to me - The UK Casino Security Management Association.

Four references on Google, and three are contained in the above links.


Ian