Vienna (OTS) – In the nights from January 20th to 21st and from January 25th to 26th, 2023, the financial police succeeded in another strike once morest illegal gambling at three locations. A total of five gaming machines and six poker tables were confiscated and fines of 88,000 euros were requested.
“Regular priority actions by the financial police in the fight once morest illegal gambling are essential to protect players and put a stop to the criminal operators. We will continue to take action here with all determination and without any tolerance,” said Finance Minister Magnus Brunner.
On the evening of January 20, the financial police in the Fraud Prevention Office, together with the Vienna State Criminal Police Office and the LPD Vienna standby unit, checked an apartment in the 12th district of Vienna on the basis of reports from the population. The inconspicuous rental apartment was secured with a large number of surveillance cameras and had to be forced open. In the apartment, the officers who intervened found four illegal slot machines and a cash center for deposits and withdrawals, which contained a total of 4,000 euros in cash. All equipment was confiscated and taken away.
On the same night, the financial police officers went to a poker room in the 10th district that was already known to the authorities and had actually been closed by the authorities the previous year. Apparently unimpressed by this, the operators continued the illegal gambling. Now four more poker tables, card shufflers and other accessories have been found and confiscated. The players present were checked and it turned out that some of them are on welfare but still had enormous amounts of cash with them. Whether there are cases of social benefit fraud here is the subject of further investigations. In total, the two operations triggered four administrative penal proceedings and resulted in fines of 88,000 euros for the operators.
Only a few days later, on January 25th, the next success for the financial police followed. Together with the LKA, WEGA, police, drug investigation and police dog unit, an illegal poker room in the second district, which was also known to the authorities, was checked once more and once more. Night-time access had to be planned in advance because there were several cameras on site. A bouncer also made sure that only certain people were allowed into the restaurant. In addition, the restaurant might only be entered via a backyard using an access code. Due to the meticulous preparations, however, the access was successful and proceeded without incident.
Drug and weapon seized
The control bodies of the financial police were able to identify two poker tables, each with eight players. In addition, there were regarding 20 guests in the restaurant, who played other card games or watched the poker games. After the persons present were questioned, it turned out that the stakes were exceptionally high. At one table you had to pay 500 euros as a participation fee (“buy-in”) in order to be able to play, at the second table it was at least 200 euros. Both poker tables, along with the chips and playing cards, were provisionally confiscated and taken away by the financial police. Drugs (cannabis) were also found in the restaurant and seized.
A person who is currently actually an AMS recipient identified himself as the local manager and organizer. As it is assumed that other people are involved in these poker games, the investigation is still ongoing.
A loaded pistol was also discovered by the police in the office of the illegal company. The bar itself or an annex to the bar may have been built illegally. A report is sent to the responsible building police. The lack of a trade license and the lack of a cash register, in addition to violations of the Gambling Act, also result in reports.
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