Carabinieri officers and Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) staff executed a Cosenza judge's precautionary order against 15 people on 26 October as prosecutors investigate alleged manipulation of amusement with prizes (AWP) machines across the province.
Two suspects were placed under house arrest, six received non-custodial measures and seven were barred from gambling activity for one year. These are investigative restrictions, with no findings of guilt.
The inquiry began with ADM's analysis of electronic traffic and collection counters, which showed marked discrepancies in play volumes for numerous AWPs. Inspectors then examined machines in commercial premises around Cosenza.
During earlier stages, they seized 145 machines suspected of having a second or altered board and approximately €80,000 ($89,500) held inside them.
Investigators allege that a cloned board sat beside each machine's legitimate board, which remained connected to the state network.
Remote controls, modified wiring and switches allegedly diverted some stakes onto the unregistered board, keeping those amounts out of the national system and avoiding the corresponding PREU gaming levy.
Cloned smart cards and interference with tamper sensors are also cited as means of preventing alarms and hiding the changes.
The October order follows a separate asset-freezing measure for more than €12m against a gaming-machine business operator on 6 November 2025. That seizure concerned suspected misappropriation of PREU collections and predates this week's action.
Prosecutors further allege that an ADM official in Cosenza accepted periodic payments to disclose the dates, times and targets of planned inspections. The official is also suspected of removing sealed, previously seized game boards from agency storage so they could be reset and returned to use.
Other suspects allegedly supplied modified boards and cloned cards, maintained installations or made premises available for altered AWPs.
The Carabinieri say digital forensic work on seized devices and accounting records helped map the suspected operation. The case remains at the preliminary investigation stage, with allegations subject to testing by the defence and court.
In April, authorities in Sassari seized two cash-prize machines after finding them disconnected from the state control network. That was a separate case and illustrates the role of network connection in oversight of Italian gaming machines.
AWP is Italy's term for an amusement with prizes machine, whose play data is monitored through the state network
