Hamburg: Illegal slot machine found at hairdresser's

During a raid in Hamburg a few days ago, police officers were astonished when they discovered an illegal gaming machine at a hairdresser's. The machine was also found at other locations. Police and employees of the Hamburg-Mitte district office also made finds at other checkpoints. A similar raid took place in Düsseldorf at the beginning of May.

Back in October last year, we at GambleJoe reported in detail on a major raid against illegal gambling in Hamburg. To this day, the police and district authorities are keeping up the pressure of control in order to effectively combat illegal gambling in the harbour metropolis. As the Hamburger Morgenpost reported, another major raid took place a few days ago, during which a total of five illegal gaming machines and cash were seized.

Illegal gaming machine found at hairdresser's

During their raid last Thursday, 23 May at around 5:30 pm, the police officers and employees of the Hamburg-Mitte district office first visited a hairdresser in Heimfelder Straße. They discovered an illegal slot machine in the back room, for which the owner had no plausible explanation. In addition, the officers also found a letter with various identity documents in the hairdresser's shop, which were obviously forged. Appropriate criminal proceedings were initiated against the shop owner.

At another checkpoint at Stader Tor, the officers found three more illegal gaming machines in a bar. The nearby Sisha bar on Harburg's Rathausplatz also turned out to be the right address for the officers - another illegal gaming machine was found and confiscated here. In addition to the five gaming machines and the suspected forged IDs, the police and district authority also seized cash totalling 2,500 euros during the operation.

Similar raid against illegal gambling in Düsseldorf

A similar raid to combat illegal gambling took place in Düsseldorf on 3 May. Here, a total of 15 police officers and employees of the public order office and the district government searched several bars and pubs. However, only one illegal gaming machine was found during this operation. Instead, the officers found narcotics such as cocaine or ecstasy in three cases.

Illegal gaming machines financially attractive for criminals

For the operators of bars, sisha bars and snack bars, the operation of slot machines is usually extremely lucrative. If the gaming machines are then also operated illegally, those responsible ‘save’ the high taxes and duties and make even more money. In September 2023, we reported on a case heard by the Osnabrück district court in which an almost 70-year-old man made a profit of 192,000 euros in one year with three illegal gaming machines.

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