Cyprus police in raid on internet gambling premises

Early reports by the Cyprus Mail indicate that local police last (Wednesday) night raided two premises suspected of facilitating online gambling.

Details are at present sparse, but it is known that in the first raid 7 computer systems were confiscated, and a further eight were seized at the second.

The owners of both premises were taken to the police station, allegedly on internet gambling charges.

More detail when we have it.

The police in Cyprus appear to have stepped up anti-online gambling operations this year; last month a series of early morning raids on three betting shops resulted in the confiscation of computers, large sums of money and other items.

Justice Minister Loucas Louca said earlier this year that the police had finalised anti-internet gambling operational plans and would continue to “…enforce the law in order to deal with this problem.”

“We hope that parliament finally passes the relevant bill so as to offer the police further ammunition to radically deal with this phenomenon, which has turned into a social problem,” he added.

The police have repeatedly complained that present penalties are inadequate to deal with the online gambling problem.

Michalis Katsounotos, a police spokesperson, said earlier this year: “Police operations of this kind have temporary effects only, since the owners of the premises return to their illegal activities by simply replacing equipment each time it is seized.”

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