Illegal slot machines and clandestine betting: fines of over 600 thousand euros
Large operation in all Italian provinces of the State Police in the sector of contrast to the game and at illegal betting, also aimed at consumer protection. 600 commercial establishments were inspected, over 3339 people were identified, 40 illegal equipment were seized, 66 complaints in a state of freedom related to the illegal exercise of gaming and betting and over 215 administrative violations sanctioned, for a amount exceeding 600,000 euros.
The operation, coordinated by the Central Unit of the Gaming and Betting Police of the central operational service of the State Policeis part of a broader contrast strategy which sees the use of the investigative “expertise” of the State Police to compete on the national and foreign front of illegal gaming and clandestine betting.
Within the scope of control activities were over 600 commercial establishments subjected to inspection. The checks, started last December throughout the national territory and concluded yesterday evening, saw the use of investigators from the flying squads, assisted by the staff of the Pasi Divisions of the Police Headquarters and the Crime Prevention Departments, enhancing the now proven synergy with the Customs and Monopolies Agency in order to optimize the ability to combat the most advanced forms of illegality in the gaming sector.
TO Lawnofficers located and raided one clandestine gambling den managed and frequented by citizens of Chinese nationality. There are 38 people reported in a state of freedom for participating and practicing gambling – 9 of them were found to be illegal on the national territory – with the consequent seizure of gaming equipment and cash for an amount of over 110,000 euros.
TO Caltanissettathe “blanket” checks carried out on a large scale by the Flying Squad and Sisco have, however, also made it possible to identify a real clandestine laboratory for the manufacturing of weaponsincluding all the equipment necessary for the construction of handguns (a manual primer, a press for reloading ammunition, a reloading set for cartridges, 93 primers, 1 17 cm file, 2 handcrafted noise attenuators) as well as a handmade model of pistol and various ammunition of different calibers.
The owner of the site was arrested. 18 commercial establishments were inspected in the metropolitan city of alone Reggio Calabriawhile a series of violations regarding prevention and workplace safety led to the temporary closure of a betting agency in the province of Varese.
Similar violations were also found in the province of Pesaro-Urbino, where the checks also revealed the illegal and promiscuous use of some private clubs used as gaming rooms. In this context, the massive control device saw the use of “specialists” trained in the qualification courses for the “gaming and betting police” organized by the central Anti-Crime directorate, bringing into play the professionalism of the operators deployed at Betting agencies, gaming shops and corners distributed in all Italian provinces. of illegal gaming and betting, also in order to protect users and prevent the illicit erosion of a significant share of state revenue.
The monitoring, moreover, has made it possible to update a constant mapping of the attendance of public places and gaming establishments as well as of the related economic interests, in order to highlight possible risks of infiltration of the mafia-type organized crimeincluding foreign ones, in the gaming sector, sometimes implemented through sophisticated recycling and reuse techniques of goods of illicit origin.
READ ALSO: Police blitz in the youth world: 40 arrests in trap environments
#Illegal #slot #betting #halls #maxi #operation #Italy #reported