Gambling Commission secures first cheating in betting prosecution

UK Gambling Commission has successfully prosecuted a greyhound racing cheat in a first-of-its-kind success for the regulator.

Trainer Chris Mosdall has been imprisoned for four-and-a-half months for drugging dogs to manipulate the outcome of races.

The 55-year-old, whose illegal tactics were captured in a BBC Panorama documentary, boasted of his exploits during the programme.

The hearing represented the first time a cheating in betting markets case had been brought by the Gambling Commission.

Judge Peter Lodder QC said: “Most of the evidence comes from covert recordings from the BBC Panorama programme in which you were quoted as saying: ‘if you get caught you’re out the door, but you take your chance’.

"You later bragged about being the ‘biggest crook in Wimbledon’."

“You knew all too well that it strikes at the very heart of gambling.

"Ordinary gamblers are entitled to assume they have a fair chance and to assume that betting markets are open and above board.

"Your behaviour corrupts the process and significantly damages that trust.”

Following the hearing the Gambling Commission's director of regulation Nick Tofiluk said: "The Gambling Commission is committed to keeping crime out of gambling and this case shows that we will act against those seeking to corrupt the integrity of sports betting and associated sports."

A Greyhound Board of Great Britain spokesperson commented: "This case shows that under the 2005 Gambling Act, cheating is treated as a serious criminal offence which can attract a custodial sentence and punishment beyond any sanction applied by the Independent Disciplinary Committee of the GBGB."