UKGC: Three People Arrested in Birmingham for Match-Fixing

The United Kingdom’s Gambling Commission (UKGC) announced yesterday that three people have been arrested in relation to match-fixing allegations. These included individuals ranging from 23-year-old to 54-year old who are believed to have committed betting offenses.

Three People Were Arrested

On January 27, the UKGC said that the authorities had arrested three people suspected of manipulating a boxing fight. According to the announcement, the arrests followed an investigation by the UKGC and were carried out by the West Midlands Police.

The UKGC clarified that the arrestees included a woman aged 54, as well as two men, aged 33 and 23. Even though the three were arrested in Birmingham, the regulator noted that the 54-year-old and the 33-year-old were arrested in Kings Norton, while the 23-year-old was arrested in Longbridge.

The earlier investigation led the regulator to believe that all three arrestees had committed the offenses under section 42 of the UK Gambling Act 2005. The section highlights offenses such as cheating at gambling or doing anything that allows another person to cheat at gambling.

The alleged cheating in this case was related to a boxing match that was held last year. The UKGC confirmed that its investigation was launched in response to identified suspicious betting activity.

The UKGC said that it will not disclose more at this time.

The UKGC Vows to Intensify Its Oversight

The UK Gambling Commission has remained focused on addressing violations of Britain’s gambling laws. The authority recently issued a warning after it understood that licensed gambling software has been appearing on illegal platforms targeting local consumers.

According to the UKGC, this happened because certain B2B providers have been supplying licensed content to unregulated gaming operators. The UKGC pointed out that this distribution was facilitated by third-party resellers. However, it also warned that providing the content of a licensed B2B supplier to an illegal operator breaches their contractual obligations.

Additionally, the authority warned that repeated failures and negligence may put suppliers’ licenses at risk. Because of that, the UKGC encouraged B2B companies to carefully select their partners and ensure that their content does not appear on unlicensed platforms that target customers in Great Britain.

This warning came shortly after the UKGC outlined plans to double down on its action against suppliers working with unregulated operators.

CEO Rhodes Says Illegal Gaming Must Be Addressed

In other news, UKGC CEO Andrew Rhodes just spoke at ICE Barcelona, using the opportunity to highlight some of the regulatory challenges faced by the UK gaming sector. He discussed the market’s progress and the ongoing implementation of the white paper measures.

In the meantime, Rhodes highlighted the threat posed by the black market and urged cross-border collaboration between countries and regulators.