Asylum seekers using government-issued cards loaded with £50-a-week in betting shops and casinos
Asylum seekers have been found to be using government-issued debit cards to fund their gambling habits in betting shops and casinos across the UK.
Listen to this article
The pre-paid cards, loaded with £50 per week, are currently handed to asylum seekers by the Home Office in order to cover basic living costs including food and clothing.
However, new data released by the government department shows the cards are instead being used to place bets at bookmakers and even casinos across the UK.
According to the data, up to 6,537 asylum seekers have used the government-issued cards at an establishment linked to gambling on at least one occasion in the past year.
Last night, the Home Office confirmed an investigation had been launched into the claims.
It comes as Secretary of State for Business, Jonathan Reynolds, told Nick Ferrari at Breakfast it was "very concerning" the cards were being used for gambling activities.
Read more: Donald Trump 'told his name features multiple times in Epstein files'
Read more: Further 10 people die of malnutrition in Gaza as aid agencies warn of mass starvation
"There will be an immediate investigation," he told LBC.
The figures, released under freedom of information (FOI) laws to PoliticsHome, reveal the cards are regularly being used to gamble as asylum seekers wait on the outcome of their claim.
The so-called 'Aspen cards' are used by the claimant for a period ranging between a few months and several years, with those in self-catered accommodation receiving £49.18 on the card each week.
Claimants are permitted to use the card for "clothes and footwear, non-prescription medicines, travel, food, non-alcoholic drinks, toiletries, laundry, toilet paper and communications" under government guidance.
The government department is able to monitor the use of cards but does not block payments for particular transactions outside of the permitted categories.
An average of 125 asylum seekers used the Aspen cards at ‘gambling-related merchants’ weekly, according to the data.
The Home Office said in a statement: "The Home Office have begun an investigation into the use of Aspen cards.
"The Home Office has a legal obligation to support asylum seekers, including any dependants, who would otherwise be destitute."
It comes as shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp branded the data "shocking" and an "insult to taxpayers".
"These people have illegally entered this country without needing to – France is safe and no one needs to flee from there," he said.
"The British taxpayer has put them up in hotels and now they slap us in the face by using the money they are given to fund gambling. These illegal immigrants clearly don’t need the money they are given if they are squandering it at casinos and arcades."