Major blow against illegal gambling in Austria

At the beginning of March, 19 house searches were carried out in Austria and Greece as part of Operation Ikarus. The operation focussed on the illegal gambling scene. The raid was the result of an investigation lasting several months. Among other things, tax evasion totalling tens of millions of euros is being investigated.

There are major raids in Germany due to professionally run illegal gambling, and private individuals using unregulated online casinos are also increasingly getting into trouble. Of course, illegal gambling is not just a big problem in Germany.

Many other people and countries in Europe are affected in different ways. For citizens, such offers often mean fraud and rip-offs of their savings. The risk of gambling addiction is also particularly high. Governments complain about tens of millions of euros in lost tax revenue every year. Our neighbours in Austria are feeling the effects just as badly as we are: according to market researchers, around 17 percent of the impressive 21.9 billion euros in gross gaming and betting revenue is generated in the illegal market.

As in Germany, measures are regularly taken to curb this abuse. However, a raid on the scale of the one carried out in early March 2024 is not an everyday occurrence. During the so-called "OP Ikarus", 165 officers searched apartments and bars in Austria alone that were classified as organised illegal gambling. Further raids took place in Greece. An entire network of front companies and dummy companies was uncovered, with tax evasion totalling more than €10 million.

This is how the major raid in Austria went down

Under the direction of the Public Prosecutor's Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption, 165 officers searched various premises at 16 locations where evidence of organized illegal gambling was suspected. These included, in particular, gambling premises, company headquarters and private residences.

The forces of the Financial Police, the Tax Investigation Department, the Tax Office for Special Jurisdictions, the Customs Office, the Federal Criminal Police Office, the Vienna State Criminal Police Office, EKO Cobra and the SRK Upper Austria seized several hundred gambling establishments in Upper and Lower Austria, according to the press statements. PCs, incriminating documents and large sums of money (from bank safe deposit boxes) were also confiscated. Furthermore, various accounts were blocked. Data was collected from the accused and interviews were conducted. Many of those involved are likely to receive summonses and charges for various offenses.

The group of perpetrators is said to have operated a network of front companies, bogus residences and pubs with illegal gambling machines. The gambling venues were located in Austria, but the whole thing was controlled remotely from Greece, according to the report. The premises are said to have been heavily secured with digital access restrictions and video surveillance.

There is even a warehouse that served as a workshop for the equipment. The building is located in the Linz-Land district. From there, the illegal gambling locations were reliably supplied with new and expertly manipulated machines. There is talk of a "highly professional" facility.

The Austrian authorities and local politicians see the operation as an important success

Justice Minister Alma Zadić commented as follows:

"The success visible here in the fight against illegal gambling shows how well and efficiently all the authorities involved worked together across borders. Thanks to the investigations led by the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor's Office, the crimes of an internationally active criminal group were successfully uncovered and stopped. I would like to thank all colleagues involved from the judiciary, police and financial police for this important blow against organized illegal gambling."

Finance Minister Magnus Brunner also made a statement:

"The close networking and good cooperation between the various authorities is a guarantee for the successful fight against illegal gambling. This success shows that the persistence of the investigators is bearing fruit. Illegal gambling knows no player protection and can destroy livelihoods. Every illegal machine taken out of circulation is an important building block in the fight against illegal gambling, which we will continue unabated. I would like to thank all the officers involved. Because no matter what uniform they wear, their common goal is the security of Austria."

The head of the BKA praised the task force in particular:

"Through perseverance and excellent cooperation between the investigators from the financial and criminal police and the WKSta, we have succeeded in striking a blow against organized crime in illegal gambling. I would like to congratulate everyone involved in OP IKARUS on this great success."

Conclusion

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