The Florida Gaming Control Commission continues to crack down on illegal gambling, as the regulator targets retail locations it describes as illicit gambling houses.
Recently, the FGCC in partnership with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Highway Patrol, and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, executed search warrants on two locations in St. Petersburg.
The enforcement action, Operation Final Spin, took place at the Action Arcade and the Zoo Sports Club and Grille in St. Petersburg.
At Action Arcade, agents seized 90 machines and $142,020. Two people were issued notices to appear, each charged with one count of possession of slot machines and one count of keeping a gambling house.
The FGCC raid at The Zoo, netted 73 machines and $105,265. One person was issued a notice to appear for one count of possession of slot machines and one count of agent or employee of a gambling house.
FGCC Vice Chair Tina Repp and Republican state Representative Berny Jacques participated in the enforcement action.
“These machines are designed to take advantage of people, and far too often that means senior citizens living on fixed incomes who can least afford to lose what they have,” said Jacques. “Removing 163 machines and nearly $250,000 in cash from these operators is about protecting the most vulnerable members of our community.”
“Operation Final Spin and the more than 200 illegal arcades we have shut down before this, should make it clear that our goal is to disrupt and dismantle illegal gaming across the state of Florida,” said Repp.
