Police have seized more than £110,000 in cash, a large quantity of gold and 16 illegal betting terminals during a coordinated crackdown on suspected unlicensed gambling operations in South Yorkshire.
The enforcement action took place across Sheffield and Doncaster on 4 and 5 August as part of Operation Duxford and Operation Snaresbrook. Warrants were executed at premises on London Road in Sheffield and Silver Street in Doncaster following weeks of intelligence gathering and preparation.
South Yorkshire Police worked alongside the UK Gambling Commission, the Yorkshire & Humber Regional and Organised Crime Unit, local authorities and Immigration Enforcement. Investigators said the targeted venues were suspected of involvement in illegal gambling and money laundering.
Officers recovered 16 betting terminals as well as substantial amounts of cash. Gold bars, coins and jewellery were also confiscated during searches of the properties. Three people were arrested on suspicion of offences involving illegal gambling, immigration matters and possession of a bladed article.
The operation extended beyond the gambling investigation. Police carried out additional warrants in Sheffield on 5 August and seized three motorbikes believed to have been stolen from an address on Norton Avenue. More than 2,200 packs of counterfeit tobacco, estimated to be worth £11,000, were found at a property on Glover Road, while officers discovered 279 mature and young cannabis plants at another address on Chesterfield Road. Four further arrests were made in connection with the wider enforcement activity.
Authorities said illegal gambling venues can be connected to organised crime, exploitation and money laundering, while also operating without the consumer safeguards required of licensed businesses. The Gambling Commission has pledged to continue working with police and regional enforcement agencies against unlicensed operators.
The South Yorkshire action comes amid a broader increase in enforcement against suspected illegal land-based gambling in Britain. In July, two people were arrested during a raid on an alleged unlicensed casino in Bristol and later released on bail while inquiries continued. A separate operation in Manchester in June also targeted suspected illegal gambling premises.
The regulatory pressure coincides with growing concern about gambling-related money laundering. The Gambling Commission’s 2026 risk assessment maintained high money-laundering risk ratings for several casino and betting sectors and raised the gambling software sector from low to medium risk. The regulator also highlighted concerns surrounding peer-to-peer gambling products and the potential supply of licensed gambling technology to unlicensed operators.
The government has allocated £26 million over three years to strengthen the Gambling Commission’s work against the illegal gambling market, including enforcement aimed at unlicensed land-based venues and the payment infrastructure supporting unlawful operators.