Betting Shops

Bookmaker arrested for turning dog kennel into betting shop

Published

11 months ago

3rd June 2020

Desdemona Phelps

Bookmaker arrested after turning dog kennel into betting shop

Rozzers nab bookie cramming punters into wooden dog shed.

Bookmaker Keith Vim has been arrested after using his dog’s kennel as an unlicensed betting office.

Vim, 57, from Gravesend was taken into custody for failing to adhere to social distancing regulations after cramming 103 punters like sardines into his garden ‘shop’.

With no online business and no trade since March 23^rd, independent bookmaker Vim has felt the pinch during lockdown due to COVID-19.

Deciding to operate from off the radar, however, Keith ran Mugbet’s betting headquarters from his own back yard.

But his punters didn’t gather in an air-conditioned building to watch Gulfstream, Will Rogers or donkey racing from Dieppe.

Instead he fit them all into his dog’s outdoor wooden kennel.

St Bernard

Keith’s dog - St Bernard, Gareth Timms – is the envy of all the other dogs in his street with a luxurious 6 by 5 metre home - enough to accommodate all his casks of brandy.

St Bernard Gareth Timms dog kennel

So, Keith installed six flat screen TVs to show live pictures from RacingTV and Sky Sports Racing, temporarily re-housing Gareth in the laundry room.

Operating from a hatch between the kennel and his greenhouse, Keith allowed his secret gamblers to bet on races from France and America.

Bookmaker hid in problem gambler’s shed

Punter, George Baldwin, said: “Keith’s betting kennel was brilliant. It was nothing like any shop I’ve ever been in because there were punters in it.

“Keith served these wonderful snacks called ‘pedigree chum biscuits’ which I’ve never eaten before - delicious!

“Having to write a Nom de Plume on a bet was a bit of a chore, and sitting in dog baskets was weird, but you could smoke and drink and not have to worry about being accused of stealing the Racing Post.”

Tip Off

Police discovered the illegal den after receiving a tip off from Tarquin Bibby, an angry customer who joined the queue for 50 minutes thinking he was getting in line to buy plants.

Man spends entire lockdown trapped in betting shop

Bibby told The Scutter: “When I saw the St Bernard dog running with a time-stamp machine round his neck, taking bets in his mouth and passing them to the man in the window, I realised this was not a garden centre.

Vim has been released on police bail so he can go home and look after Gareth.

St Bernard, Gareth said: “Thank f*ck that’s over. Now I can have my bed back.”