An operation, ordered by the Provincial Command of Catanzaro regarding illegal gaming and bettingrecorded the execution of 10 interventions – of which 2 were irregular – during which a total of 5 electronic devices, including personal computers and equipment, were seized.
In detail, the financiers of the Guardia di Finanza Group of Lamezia Terme they identified 2 public premises in which in one the exercise of an illegal activity of collecting bets on sporting events was hidden, while in the other the administration of irregular games of chance. In the first of the controlled businesses, located in the central area of Lamezia Terme, a real clandestine betting collection center was discovered which, via internet connection to a foreign bookmaker’s platform, allowed betting to be made on the schedules of sporting events. national and foreign. During the investigations, the Fiamme Gialle found that since January 2023 on the illegal platform, played for a total amount of 134,000 euros without any paper receipt being issued as all contacts between the merchant and the bettors took place on dedicated chats. Upon completion of the check the owner of the business was reported to the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Lamezia for having carried out illegal collection of bets in the absence of the required authorization and 2 computers, a tablet, 2 smartphones, a VISA card enabled to operate with cryptocurrencies and 4 rechargeable debit/credit cards were seized , used for the illicit activity. Within the scope of a second check carried out at a commercial premises located in the municipality of Curinga In this case, the financiers found that the operator had installed 5 video slots without the required authorization from the ADM and not included in any of the categories of legal machines. In particular one of the slotswhile disguised as a “chewing gum” dispenserwas a truly illegal machine that also allowed cash winnings. In light of the investigations carried out, the manager of the commercial establishment and the person who had distributed the devices, subsequently identified, were reported to the AG for gambling in a public establishment and they were fined administrative fines of around 50,000 euros each.