Russian Apartment in Central St. Petersburg Converted Into Underground Casino

Police in Russia’s St. Petersburg have released photos of a downtown apartment that criminals allegedly converted into an illegal casino.

The Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee’s St. Petersburg branch said the apartment was located on Asafyeva Street, in the city’s Vyborg District.

Officers said they have launched a criminal investigation into an unnamed 34-year-old St. Petersburg resident. They think the arrestee masterminded the operation.

St. Petersburg Casino: Slot Machines Seized

Officials said the illicit “casino” was located in an apartment in a residential building. They published photos of the apartment’s interior. The mastermind appears to have partitioned the property off into rooms containing illegally installed slot machines.

A ministry spokesperson said the suspect had “conducted gambling in the apartment using gaming equipment that paid winnings in real cash.”

The spokesperson added that the ministry had shut down the casino after a series of well-planned investigative actions. Ministry agents seized several slot machines and undisclosed cash holdings. Investigators said their probe is ongoing as they “establish all the details of the illegal activity.”

The district is in the historic northern part of the city.

Riot Police Storm Samara ‘Gambling Den’

Meanwhile, ministry officers in the Samara Oblast, near Russia’s border with Kazakhstan, said that riot police were dispatched to “storm” a gambling den. They said the officers raided a private home in a village in the Stavropol region.

Police said the house had been converted into an illegal gambling den operated by several Tolyatti residents. These were identified as men aged 44, 38, and 34, as well as a 44-year-old woman.

Detectives said they arrested 12 people at the house. Police said several of the arrestees confirmed that they were clients of an illegal gambling club.

Police seized poker tables, gaming chips, decks of cards, two cell phones, video cameras, and bookkeeping materials.

Officers have charged the quartet with crimes related to the “illegal organization of gambling,” the Russian news outlet 63.ru reported.

Police released a video of officers forcing suspects to the floor. They also unveiled footage of several people sitting around what appeared to be a poker table.

Following a similar raid last year, a Samara court handed out suspended prison sentences ranging from one year to 15 months. The court also ordered several convicts to serve probation.

Earlier this month, a senior Russian lawmaker suggested that the country should launch a new crackdown on cryptocurrencies. She called on Moscow to introduce criminal liability for video game developers whose games feature online casino ads.