Despite the arrest of last month, Dollaro Poker continues to operate. Last month the police arrested a man, they believed to be the site owner. The police believes Dollaro poker has ties to the Mafia. According to the AAMS, an Italian regulator, at the moment there is not much that can be done to stop the site from providing services.
This week the head of the remote gaming at AAMS, Francesco Rodano told Gambling Compliance that AAMS was powerless in this situation.
“The illegal business leaders were captured, but the site is still functioning and accessible: I do not know why but it is a matter beyond our control and that can be repeated”
In January the police arrested eleven people, they were charged for operating an illegal gambling network. Luigi Tancredi was also arrested, he is allegedly the site owner. Tancredi is known as “the King of Slots” due to his involvement with legal land-based gaming industry in Italy in the past.
Nicola Femia was also arrested, he is accused of being Tancredi business partner. Fermia is the boss of the organized crime syndicate, Calabrian ‘Nidrangheta.
Mafia
The police believes that throughout Italy, the group handles per day around €11.5 million ($12.8 million) in bets. The mafia also controls over 12.000 online gaming as well as lottery video terminals in cafes, bars and gaming halls.
According to prosecutors, even though Tancredi is not a direct Mob member, he is an “indispensable link between organized crime and the world of information technology”.
He is accused of having ties with the Camorra crime syndicate. The police believes Tancredi paid the crime syndicate to be able to install gaming machines on their premises.
The public prosecutor’s office in Rome said:
“By collaborating with criminal groups based in Ostia, the Camorra and the ‘Ndrangheta set up a poker platform that users could access from every part of Italy”
Dollaro Poker
Dollaro uses the “agent model”, withdrawals and deposits are controlled by agents. In Italy it is a common model, most Italians visit clubs or café to gamble online. There is no player registration, a player pays the deposit to an agent, who load it into an account.
At the end, the agent pays the player in cash the amount won. This is a way to avoid tax liability. Dollaro offers a much lower rake than its competitors, due to the fact that licensed competitors pay a much higher tax rate.
Dollaro has servers in Florida and is based in Romania, there is noting the Italian regulator can do to prevent Dollaro from operating.
Odeta Nestor, Romanian regulator, talked to the Gambling Compliance about the lack of evidence produced by the Italian authorities. There is “no evidence of a link with Dollaro Poker and it is therefore not possible to be prevent them from operating.”
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