Home Office launches probe into use of asylum seeker payment cards for gambling

The Home Office has launched an investigation into asylum seeker payment cards after data showed some had been used for gambling.

More than 6,500 transactions were attempted online and at sites such as casinos, slot machine arcades and national lottery retailers in the past year, according to a Freedom of Information request made by PoliticsHome.

The payments online were blocked each time, while in some other cases cash withdrawals were made in or near gambling venues, located using the terminal’s ID number.

When asylum seekers arrive in the UK, they are given a chip and pin debit card called an Aspen card, which is intended to provide weekly support to buy essentials such as food, clothing and toiletries.

Peak

For people being housed in hotels that provide meals, the allowance is £9.95 a week, and for those in self-catered accommodation the allowance is usually £49.18 a week.

The cards are taxpayer-funded and there are around 80,000 users in the UK.

The data showed a peak of 227 attempts to use the cards to gamble in a single week last November.

At the lowest point, there were 40 attempts to use the cards to gamble in a week last July.

‘Madness’

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “This Labour Government is allowing illegal migrants to gamble using taxpayers’ hard-earned cash. This madness has to end.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “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.”