The MPA is advancing in the investigation of a legal and financial structure organized to capture bets from illegal virtual casinos.
Argentina.- The Public Prosecution Ministry of Santa Fe (MPA) detected a Corporation that would be the umbrella of an organization of an illegal online betting system. The discovery occurred within the framework of an investigation led by prosecutor Agustín Nigro on the legal and financial structure that organizes illegal online gambling.
It was revealed that more than 35,000 children and adolescents used the investigated illegal betting platform. The report published by the MPA shows that of the transactions analyzed, 23 percent were made by adolescents around 15 years old, while the average age of the users in general is 24 years old.
Given that a large part of the users of this illegal network are children and adolescents, the investigation is framed within the Criminal Prosecution Plan by prioritized objectives of the Attorney General's Office.
The procedure started in May of this year following a presentation made at the MPA by the Minister of Education, José Goity; his counterpart of Equality and Human Development, Victoria Tejeda, and the Executive Vice President of the Social Action Fund, Daniel Di Lena.
In the complaint, a set of web domains, accessible from the province of Santa Fe, dedicated to capturing bets illegally were detailed. Initially, 273 websites had been identified, a number that later expanded to reach 385.
With the progress of the investigation, and by a judicial order requested by prosecutor Nigro, funds that were blocked and immobilized yesterday, Thursday, October 24, were identified. Likewise, by that same order, the blocking of the domains and subdomains was arranged, which, according to the evidence available, functioned as platforms for illegal betting. Due to the criminal maneuvers carried out through the Corporation, individuals of Brazilian and Argentine nationality are being investigated.
See also: It is estimated that in Santa Fe, USD14m per month is gambled illegally
Yesterday five raids were carried out: three in the Buenos Aires localities of Manuel Bernardo Gonnet (La Plata district), Olivos, and Pilar –in a gated community–; and two in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA). For the execution of these measures, the collaboration of the National Gendarmerie was counted on.
