A gambling arcade has allegedly been caught out in a sting to catch shops serving underage customers – but the council has yet to name the shop.

Wokingham Borough Council licensing officers carried out ‘test purchases’ in gambling venues during December last year. This involved checking whether shop staff asked for age verification.

All betting shops in the borough passed the test, but an ‘adult gaming centre’ – an arcade for gambling machines – in Wokingham failed.

Licensing officers now say they are working with the shop’s management to fix any problems and discuss staff training. They also say another test will be carried out at the shop ‘within the next six months'.

The arcade’s failure was included in a report to councillors on Wokingham Borough’s licensing and appeals committee, which was set to discuss it at a meeting on Tuesday, January 23.

But the report didn’t include the name of the arcade, details of what the test involved, or what action would be taken if the shop were to fail again.

Wokingham Borough Council said it would not answer questions until after the meeting, which is open to the public, had taken place this week. There is no indication that the shop will be named at the meeting.

The committee report said: “Officers completed an underage test purchasing operation on all betting shop premises in the borough during December 2023. All operators passed with a challenge to age verification of the young person.

“A test purchase was also carried out on an Adult Gaming Centre in Wokingham, which resulted in a failure. Licensing Officers are currently working with management to help rectify issues and discuss training needs.

“A further test purchase on this Adult Gaming Centre will be completed within the next six months.”