A large-scale raid against illegal gambling in Berlin led to the seizure of 120 slot machines. Around 400 officers from various agencies, including the Police, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and Customs and Tax investigators, searched 74 locations across the city.
An evaluation of the confiscated machines showed that suspected criminals generated around €180,000 ($206,827) in revenue. This amount is now set to be confiscated.
According to investigators, illegally installed slot machines are a key area of activity for organised crime. They generate income and are often used for money laundering.
The overall economic damage reportedly runs into millions each year. A key strategy in tackling these criminal structures is the confiscation of illegally obtained assets.
Justice Senator Felor Badenberg stated: “Our approach is deliberate: we hit offenders where it hurts most – their money. Anyone who profits from criminal business models must not retain those gains’’
Interior Senator Iris Spranger stated: “We want to deprive criminal structures of their financial base, disrupt their operations and apply maximum enforcement pressure to consistently combat illegal gambling.”
Local media reports that criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Complex software can delete, overwrite, or conceal data on chips, which have been mandatory in machines since 2014.
According to Economic Affairs Senator Franziska Giffey, a common operation method is a mixed setup in which legal machines are placed in public areas and illegal ones are hidden in back rooms.
Joint operations take place twice a year. Badenberg said significant work went into preparing, carrying out and analysing the seized equipment.
These operations are designed to maintain constant pressure on organised crime networks and disrupt their activities. They are carried out alongside regular raids and are informed by tips from the public and ongoing investigations.
The German Joint Gambling Authority of the Länder (GGL) found in a study on the online gambling black market that Germany has a channelisation rate of 77.03%
