Federal police in Vienna, Austria seized six gaming machines and €3,000 from an illegal gambling establishment on September 1.
The raid took place after an anonymous tip.
The establishment was a small apartment, which had been altered to hide the gambling activities from passers by. A ventilation system had been installed to provide fresh air, and a peephole camera had been set up so individuals could be let in remotely by the establishment operator.
Two more cameras were also discovered.
Eight people were questioned after they were discovered in the apartment. Along with the six illegal gaming machines, police located the €3,000 in cash machine that had been used for deposits and withdrawals. All machines were confiscated.
A sniffer dog also uncovered a small amount of crystal meth, which was also seized.
“The persistent fight of the financial police against illegal gambling is pushing it back into the area of private homes; a clear trend can be observed here,” said finance minister Gernot Blümel.
“However, the most recent successes show that we will not be deterred by this. We will continue to crack down on player protection.”
Last week, financial police in Salzburg announced that they had seized 107 illegal gambling machines from 8 locations between May 2020 and May 2021.
