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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Rob Davies

UK slot machine operator fined over cancer patient’s activity

A branch of Merkur Slots
A branch of Merkur Slots. Wendy Hughes lost nearly £2,000 in the Stockport branch over the course of two spells lasting 16 hours in November 2023. Photograph: William Barton/Alamy

A high street slot machine operator has been fined almost £100,000 by the gambling regulator after the Guardian revealed how staff allegedly exploited a vulnerable cancer patient.

Wendy Hughes, then 64, lost nearly £2,000 in the Stockport branch of Merkur Slots UK over the course of two spells lasting 16 hours in November 2023, months after she was diagnosed with lung cancer.

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