In December, the Police Commissioner of Padua Marco Odorisio ordered an intensification of administrative checks by the Administrative Team of the Police Headquarters in the commercial establishments active in the gaming and betting sector between Padua, Piove di Sacco, Campodarsego and Monselice. Only yesterday, December 14th, there was a shower of reports and also two complaints.
A first control activity concerned a betting hall in Padua. 7 people and the owner, of Chinese origin, have been identified. The installation of a POS for electronic payment with credit cards and debit cards was found to be in violation of the law and in the room dedicated to VLTs the windows had been obscured by some panels: the owner was thus sanctioned with a fine of 1.500 euro and reported to the Municipality of Padua with a request to issue an order to remove the device and the blackout panels. A fine of 700 euros was also issued because a player was found smoking inside the room, where there is no special area reserved for smokers.
A Campodarsego, in a betting shop, 12 customers and the owner, of Chinese origin, were identified. During the inspection it emerged that the room was run by an employee for whom the license holder had not requested representation and was therefore collecting bets in violation of the law. The employee, a citizen of Chinese origin, was thus reported. Furthermore, inside the room, there were 10 gaming machines turned on in the 13.00/15.00 time slot in violation of the provisions of the regional law; in particular one of the devices was used by a customer. This triggered the fine of 500 euros for each device in operation. It was also found that a POS for electronic payment with credit and debit cards had been installed in violation of the law and in the room dedicated to VLTs the windows had been obscured by a plasterboard panel. These violations, already found during a previous inspection, triggered a fine of 1.500 euros, as well as a report to the Municipality of Campodarsego with a request to issue an order to remove the POS device and the blackout panel. During the check, the license and/or certificate authorizing the ancillary administration of food and drinks was not shown, nor was it displayed: for this reason the owner was sanctioned with a fine of 308 euros.
Other inspection activity concerned two betting shops in Piove di Sacco. 12 customers and the owners have been identified, one Italian and one of Chinese origin. During the inspection it emerged that in one of the rooms the room was run by an employee for whom the license holder had not requested representation and for this reason the owner was reported. The installation of a POS for electronic payment with credit and debit cards in violation of regional law was also found in both premises and thus a report was made to the Municipality of Piove di Sacco with a request for the issuance of the order of removal of the POS device. Furthermore, administrative fines totaling 1.400 euros were imposed on the owner of Chinese origin for failure to produce the license authorizing the ancillary administration of food and drinks and the absence of the required precursor alcohol test for detecting the blood alcohol level.
The control services will continue in the coming weeks.
