Ritz Roulette Sting Leaves Industry In A Spin
he recent £1.3m roulette sting in London’s Ritz Club has left the UK casino industry in a state of shock.
The laser assisted roulette 'robbery' at Piccadilly’s Ritz Club UK Casino could prove a test case on several fronts with some industry experts claiming current legislation might not lead to a straight forward conviction, worse still, if preventative security isn’t invented, such technology could even kill off live roulette.
Three eastern Europeans were arrested, in the words of Scotland Yard, on "allegations of obtaining money by deception through gambling" following two nights of alleged deception at the Ritz. Police added that it was 'inappropriate to speculate on charges at this stage', but opinion seems divided in both the gaming and legal sectors as to exactly what charges would stand up in court under current legislation. The problem with such cases is that no one can prove exactly, at which point a crime had been committed and when exactly the alleged cheating occurred. Add to this the fact that the current gaming laws dating back to the mid 19th century, do not legislate for the use of such technological 'aids' to reduce the odds on such games and there could be something of a grey market. Some in the industry fear that the three may not even be charged on the grounds that whilst Section 17 of the Gaming Act 1845 forbids 'unlawful devices', previous cases have seen suspects argue that they had not interfered with a game, simply used a system to win.
Mark Griffiths, professor of gambling studies at Nottingham Trent University, believes that the Ritz case could set a legal precedent. "A lot of the legislation governing gambling is antiquated and out of date and many of the laws being used today have simply failed to keep pace with technology. It’s going to be very interesting to see if and what the three are charged with. I think a lot of people out there are thinking fair enough if you come up with a system to beat the roulette table and take money off a casino. If you have a system and you lose the casino doesn’t care, but if you have a system and you win they will come down on you like a ton of bricks," he said. "What has happened here is that the accused have brought in the latest technology to give them an unfair advantage but under the current laws is unfair illegal ? I really do think this is going to be something of a test case."
There has certainly been much for the industry to speculate on in a week where the impenetrable nature of the British casino industry has been called into question. One source believes there is now one of two outcomes. "Either the roulette wheel manufacturers or the security experts need to develop a safe solution to prevent such a scam or, as a worst case scenario, such technology could even kill off live roulette." That view was certainly not an isolated belief. Another source added: "The short-term outcome could well see stricter gaming floor bans on mobile phones but the long term view provides much more food for thought and prompts the question, is it inevitable that one day technology will change the way roulette is played forever? If casinos stop the mobile phones, won’t the technology to cheat merely find another carrier, eventually in things as small as in a tie pin?"
Officers from Scotland Yard’s money laundering investigations team obtained a court order last week, allowing them to freeze the money "obtained’" by the three suspects in the Ritz UK Casino roulette case for three months while the investigation continues.
