Authorities in Cosenza have launched an investigation targeting a substantial criminal operation involving the tampering of online gaming machines throughout the province. The public prosecutor's office announced on Monday that precautionary measures have been enacted against 15 individuals allegedly connected to the manipulation of amusement with prize (AWP) machines, a popular category of slot-style devices in Italy. The actions reportedly led to tax evasion and corruption.
A judge in Cosenza issued a preliminary ruling in collaboration with the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM), Italy's gaming regulator. The measures include two house arrests, six measures restricting personal freedom, and a one-year suspension on gaming operations for seven individuals. Currently, none of the accused have faced trial as the inquiry remains at a preliminary stage.
Evidence suggests that the scheme involved an organized criminal group that might include the owner of a distribution company and a local ADM official. It is alleged that the ADM official provided classified information on inspection schedules and targets in exchange for payments, facilitating the concealment of illegal boards and the retrieval, alteration, and redistribution of seized gaming components. The network reportedly engaged in intricate modifications to cabling and activation systems to continue their illegal performances and avoid detection.
The investigation commenced after ADM's central gaming controls detected significant anomalies in the telematic data from various gaming machines. Following extensive inspections at commercial sites across the Cosenza area, authorities confiscated 145 machines believed to have hidden, tampered circuit boards. Additionally, about €80,000 ($89,188) in cash was seized from the machines.
Cyber forensic analysis of seized smartphones, tablets, computers, and memory devices uncovered methods used to divert stakes from the monitoring system. The illicit operations allegedly involved the installation of cloned circuit boards alongside authorized ADM boards and utilized remote control devices, modified cabling, timers, or monitor switches to reroute gameplay to the illegal systems, allowing bets to be collected without official recording.
This investigation follows another recent probe into a similar insider scheme involving former employees tied to a Gratta e Vinci scratchcard fraud. In that case, authorities confiscated over €25 million in assets from five ex-employees of a gaming concessionaire, although the company itself has not faced charges. Prosecutors claim that these individuals, exploiting their privileged system access, identified winning tickets in advance, undermining the game’s randomness.
The gaming sector remains on alert, with the trade body EGP-FIPE warning the Senate in June that the industry is entrenched in a "regulatory deadlock" that could exacerbate unregulated gambling operations within the country.
