The publication Balkan Insight reports that a crackdown on illegal gambling by Albania’s state police has revealed that nearly one quarter of the businesses inspected lacked gambling licenses.
In operations conducted over the weekend, police inspected over 260 betting parlours around the country, discovering that roughly 65 of these lacked the necessary licence to operate. Aided by financial auditors from tax authorities, the police seized 400 electronic gambling machines.
Balkan Insight reports that gambling has soared in Albania in recent years. According to tax recods Albanians spent more than Euro 66 million on gambling in 2008, an increase of almost 70 percent from the previous year.
Earlier this year the Finance Ministry commissioned a government body to monitor gambling.