Vast operation in all Italian provinces of the State Police in the sector of the fight against illegal gambling and betting, also aimed at consumer protection.

The operation, coordinated by the Central Unit of the Gaming and Betting Police of the Central Operational Service of the State Police, is part of a broader law enforcement strategy which sees the use of the investigative expertise of the State Police measured on the national front and abroad of illegal gaming and clandestine betting.

As part of targeted control activities, ordered by the Central Operations Service with the direct use of SISCO, over 600 commercial establishments were subjected to controls. More than 3339 subjects were identified, with 40 seizures of illegal equipment (“totems”, personal computers, AWPs and VLTs), 66 reports at liberty related to the abusive exercise of gaming and betting and over 215 administrative violations sanctioned, for an amount exceeding 600.000 euros.

In Prato, the agents identified and raided a clandestine gambling den managed and frequented by Chinese citizens. 38 individuals were reported to the Judicial Authority in a state of freedom for participation and exercise of gambling, 9 of them were found to be irregular on the national territory, with the consequent seizure of gaming equipment and cash for a total of over 110.000 euros.

In Caltanissetta, the “blanket” checks carried out on a large scale by the Flying Squad and SISCO have, instead, allowed the identification of a real clandestine laboratory for the manufacture of weapons, including all the equipment necessary for the construction of short weapons as well as a homemade model of pistol and various ammunition of different calibers. The owner of the site was arrested.

Eighteen commercial establishments were inspected in the metropolitan city of Reggio Calabria alone, while a series of violations regarding prevention and workplace safety led to the temporary closure of a betting shop in the province of Varese. Similar violations were also found in the province of Pesaro-Urbino, where the inspections also uncovered the illegal and promiscuous use of several private clubs used as gaming halls. The Agimeg agency reports.

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.

The activity is part of the constant prevention and monitoring action conducted by the State Police with the aim of preventing the practice of illegal gambling and betting, also in order to protect users and prevent the illicit erosion of a significant portion of tax revenue deriving from the activities of the public gaming sector.

Furthermore, monitoring has allowed us to constantly update the mapping of the frequentation of public places and gaming establishments as well as the related economic interests, in order to highlight possible risks of infiltration of mafia-type organised crime, including foreign ones, in the gaming sector, sometimes implemented through sophisticated techniques of laundering and re-use of goods of illicit origin.