Agents conduct gambling raids at area establishments
Agents with the state police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement Tuesday raided numerous bars and private clubs in Washington, Westmoreland, Fayette and Allegheny counties and seized 215 gambling machines and $177,000 in cash.
The search warrants were executed at 48 bars and clubs, as well as a business, warehouse and residence, as a result of an investigation into illegal gambling. A number of establishments in the Washington area were among those raided. BLCE did not identify the sites where the raids occurred.
Criminal charges and Liquor Code administrative charges are forthcoming as the investigation continues. The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office is assisting with the prosecutions.
“The ongoing operations of illegal gambling devices and illegal video gaming terminals, while often viewed as a victimless crime, result in lost tax revenue for Pennsylvanians and victimize households of citizens whose family members have gambling addictions,” said Maj. Scott T. Miller, director of BLCE. “The devices are not included in, nor may they be considered a part of, the Small Games of Chance Act.”
The illegal machines are unregulated and do not operate on true odds; the amount of money retained by the machine is determined by and set by the vendor, a news release stated. The payout percentage would never be known by the player of the machine and is not verified by any governmental or industry oversight agency.
In 2016, BLCE seized 706 illegal video gambling devices and more than $167,000 from illegal gambling activities.