Illegal Gambling Crackdowns Intensify in the United States

Police departments in the United States have recently increased their efforts to crack down on illegal gambling businesses in the country. Thanks to these recent raids, there are now far fewer gaming establishments. Other people could move in to fill the gap. Left behind by illegal gambling kings, but it will be much harder for them to escape the watchful eyes of law enforcement officials.

One Person was Arrested in Los Angeles

In Los Angeles, some shady people ran a reasonably large gambling den in the San Fernando Valley. It all ended when the local police department stepped in to halt the operation. With the help of SWAT team members, they were able to arrest over a dozen people involved in one way or another. Only one of those detained was eventually arrested; No details about the person’s involvement in the illegal gambling operation have been released. This particular crackdown was part of an ongoing investigation, so full details may not have been removed.

The LA police have been investigating illegal activities in the area and have previously conducted busts and raids during which they arrested 35 people. These people were involved in illegal gambling, drug trafficking, and prostitution. This might be an indication that there is a vast unlawful gambling ring operating in the underground.

New York’s Illegal Gambling Problems

Not surprisingly, New York has struggled with some problems related to illegal gambling and extortion, among other criminal activities. Recently, the New York State Police conducted a raid with federal assistance. About 20 suspects have been arrested in connection with the above actions on Staten Island. 11 arrested are members or associates of the New York Colombo family. To fix a college basketball game.

An attempt to rig the college basketball game was revealed through wiretapping. Benjamin Bifalco, one of the defendants, was caught boasting about his plans to offer members of a college basketball team thousands of dollars to host a game. Few days by convincing the team’s players to lose the game by a wide margin. As a result, the team would keep the difference in points. Those plans failed, and Bifalco has since been accused of bribery in sports.

Reports:

Bill Miller, CEO of AGA, said the trade organization would duplicate those efforts. In his opening remarks at G2E, Miller said the group would release new research next month showing Americans gamble more than $300 billion annually through illegal and unregulated websites and slot machines. Miller said the figure translated to $15 billion in lost gaming revenue in the legit casino markets. “This isn’t about us,” Miller told a room filled with gaming industry executives and staff. “It’s all about the overall effect.

Illegal gambling costs communities approximately $4 billion in taxes each year. Tackling the illicit gambling market is one of three initiatives Miller outlines for the industry over the next 12 months. He also mentioned the continued evolution and adoption of a digital future through the expansion of gaming and cashless payment technologies and the modernization of responsible gaming programs. In his April letter to U. Merrick Garland’s Attorney General, Miller said the expansion of legal sports betting has reduced illegal markets, but not enough.

He cited AGA research showing that 74% of sports bettors believed it was necessary to only bet with legit operators. However, 52% continued to support illegal bookmakers. The majority of sports bettors, 63%, told the researchers they were surprised to learn that the sites they used were unregulated and illicit sports betting.