Italian gambling regulator official implicated in slot machine fraud
Italian authorities have taken action against 15 suspects following an investigation into an alleged multimillion-euro slot machine fraud involving a suspected insider at the country’s gambling regulator.
Police in Cosenza, southern Italy, executed court-ordered measures on October 26 after investigators uncovered an alleged scheme involving manipulated gaming machines, concealed gambling revenue and corruption.
The investigation centres on an alleged arrangement between a slot machine operator and an official employed by Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM), which regulates the country’s gambling industry.
According to prosecutors, the official received payments in exchange for advance warnings about regulatory inspections, allowing operators to conceal illegal equipment before inspectors arrived.
Cosenza prosecutor Vincenzo Capomolla described the alleged operation as a highly organised and meticulous scheme involving several individuals responsible for modifying and maintaining slot machines.
Investigators seized 145 suspected manipulated slot machines from businesses across Cosenza province, along with approximately €80,000 in cash found inside the equipment.
The machines allegedly contained two electronic systems: one connected to Italy’s official gambling monitoring network and another designed to record wagers without reporting them to tax authorities.
Investigators believe operators used wireless controls and modified electronic components to divert gambling activity to the unauthorised system.
This allegedly allowed businesses to collect betting revenue without paying the corresponding gambling tax, known as the Prelievo Unico Erariale (PREU).
The suspected involvement of an ADM official has become a central focus of the investigation.
Prosecutors allege the employee disclosed inspection dates, locations and other confidential information to a gambling machine operator in exchange for regular payments.
The official is also suspected of removing previously confiscated electronic components from ADM storage facilities and returning them to individuals involved in the operation.
Those components were allegedly reset and modified before being returned to circulation.
Speaking to Italian media, Capomolla said investigators had identified evidence of a corrupt arrangement between the businessman and the regulatory official.
The investigation began after ADM analysts in Rome detected discrepancies in betting volumes reported by gambling machines operating in Cosenza.
Subsequent inspections and analysis of electronic records helped investigators identify the alleged manipulation.
In November 2025, authorities ordered the preventive seizure of more than €12 million in assets connected to a slot machine operator suspected of failing to remit gambling taxes.
The latest operation resulted in two suspects being placed under house arrest, six receiving other non-custodial restrictions and seven being prohibited from working in the gambling industry for one year.
Potential offences under investigation include criminal conspiracy, corruption, disclosure of official secrets, aggravated fraud against the state and assisting offenders.
ADM representative Luca Turchi acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations involving an agency employee but said the suspected actions of one official should not undermine the wider regulator’s work.
Authorities have confirmed that the investigation remains ongoing.
The allegations are subject to further judicial examination, and none of the suspects has been convicted in connection with the latest proceedings.
