Prague, June 30 (CTK) – The Czech finance and interior ministries signed on Thursday an agreement establishing a joint team against illegal gambling, called Gambling Cobra, Deputy Finance Minister Ondrej Zavodsky has told journalists.
The team is analogous to the two bodies’ cooperation in the struggle with tax crime, called Tax Cobra, Zavodsky said.
The team, that will be comprised of the police, customs authority and Financial Administration officials, started its work at the moment it was signed.
It will focus on the biggest challenges associated with illegal gambling, which are primarily illegal gambling rooms on the basis of V.I.P. clubs, “quiz slot machines” and other forms of organised crime.
“The team will have two duties. To provide information and coordinate the steps so that they do not overlap,” Zavodsky said.
“There will be regular meetings of the bodies involved and there will be a continual evaluation of the steps taken against illegal gambling,” Zavodsky said.
He said the number of illegal gambling machines could be estimated at 2000.
Due to illegal gambling, public and local budgets lose one billion crowns annually, mostly through illegal gambling conducted online, he added.
“Today is the beginning of a road towards efficient struggle with gambling, a rapid road without useless technicalities,” Zavodsky said.
The tax evasion through illegal forms of gambling that may reach hundreds of million crowns is unacceptable, he added.
At present, organised criminal groups actively address operators of restaurants, pubs and night-clubs, offering cooperation to them for the operation of illegal gambling rooms.
Hoping for hefty profits, many innkeepers are ready to take part in the crime.
At the end of February, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka called for closer cooperation within the fight against the quiz machines by the police, state attorney’s office and finance and trade and industry ministries.
The quiz machines are slot machines combined with knowledge questions. Their operators claim that they are not covered by the lottery law and no permits are needed.
However, the Finance Ministry said two years ago that the quiz machines are illegal gambling.
Since last July, a special police team called Win with a focus on illegal operation of the machines has been working. In cooperation with 60 police teams, its work has led to 90 cases of criminal prosecution.
The Tax Cobra is a special unit against tax evasion that was established in June 2014. It is composed of the police, customs officers and Financial Administration specialists.
