A woman who stole her friend’s credit card to gamble online after drinking alcohol and taking drugs would have to pay compensation to her victim, a local court ruled. The 35-year-old woman, who is also a single mum, is to also get treatment for her addiction.
The woman, called Rebecca Peters, had spent the day before the incident shopping and drinking with a friend of hers, who has mobility issues. Finally, the two of them returned to the victim’s home, Ms Peters stole the card and used her friend’s money to place bets on two online gambling sites. The amount spent was estimated at £342.
On the next day, the victim’s bank contacted her regarding the transactions made on the previous day and after being confronted about the £342 spent on gambling websites on the previous day, Ms Peters admitted to the theft. She pleaded guilty to theft at Leicester Magistrates’ Court.
According to the prosecutor Kwok Wan, the crime of Ms Peters was aggravated by the fact it involved a breach of trust. According to the testimony at the court hearing, the 35-year-old woman had spent most of the day when the incident happened drinking, and she had also used some cocaine. The two of them had some more alcohol when returning to the victim’s home and Ms Peters started thinking she needed to gamble.
Problem Gambling Affects and Increasing Number of British People
Previously, the defendant has been subject to a community order for shoplifting earlier in 2019. Ray Carter, her solicitor, asked the magistrates to annul that order and impose another community order so that Ms Peters could be helped address her problems with a prolonged probation service.
The defendant’s solicitor further shared that after her theft was unveiled, she went to see her friend, apologised to her and tried to make amends in order to revive their relationship. He also explained that Ms Peters was a single mother of two children and had been dealing with some mental health problems and addictions, including drug addiction and problem gambling behaviour.
The court magistrates agreed to roll out a new 12-month community order against Ms Peters. It includes 15 days with probation, as well as a six-month drug treatment. Apart from that, the defendant would have to pay a £342 compensation to the victim plus the court costs of £85.
The case of Ms Peters has been only one of the many examples of gambling-related crimes in the UK in the last few years. As Casino Guardian has already reported, the number of gambling addicts has been rising across the country, as problem gambling has been taking over more British residents every year. For some time now, the country’s gambling regulatory body and various gambling charities have been trying to tackle gambling-related harm and help gamblers who are affected by problem gambling.
- Author
Daniel Williams
