The global illicit gambling market is many times higher than the legal industry. In one form or another, gambling can be found even in countries where all types of such games are strictly prohibited.
Outlawed Gambling Stats
Further in the article, the statistics on different aspects of the illegal gambling business are considered. The amounts are in U.S. dollars. The information is several years old for some items due to numerous difficulties in collecting and processing such data.
$1.7 billion is the revenue of the Ndrangheta from gambling.
The criminal clan of the Ndrangheta (Italian. 'Ndrangheta) from the Italian province of Calabria is not as famous as Cosa Nostra or Camorra. However, for many years it has remained one of the most influential criminal syndicates in the world.
Clan revenues amount to tens of billions of dollars a year. Illegal gambling contributes a fair part of the total income. According to the information research organization Demoskopika, in 2013, Ndrangheta earned one billion seven hundred million dollars on underground gambling, for a total gain of over seventy billion.
Five hundred cheaters are detained in Las Vegas every year.
Nevada Department of Gaming Control claims that every year, about half a thousand people are detained in Las Vegas for attempts to cheat the casino. These offenses are severe enough to get the police involved and take the case to court.
Only a third of the fraudsters work at casinos. The rest of the scammers are visitors.
In recent years it has become increasingly difficult for security officers to identify sharpers because criminals are adopting the latest achievements in science and technology. They use various devices, such as:
- miniature cameras,
- pocket computers,
- portable sources of ultraviolet and infrared radiation,
- special contact lenses, and more.
Yet, casino surveillance teams detect them.
A hundred people a year are detained at cockfights in California.
Illegal cockfights are very popular in California. Upon at stake sometimes are impressive amounts. The stakes are exceptionally high in Los Angeles. The police say that one successful bet can bring up to fifteen thousand dollars.
In 2010, the police conducted a large-scale raid in San Bernardino. During the operation, they detained forty-three organizers of the underground sweepstakes and about four hundred cocks (My Fox LA, 2013). However, they failed to eradicate this type of criminal activity. Bets on cockfights are accepted so far.
$2000 a day is the income of the organizers of cockfights.
The Romanian Princess has been detained in Oregon. She arranged cockfighting betting on her ranch. Her husband, a former Deputy Sheriff, helped her.
The couple organized sweepstakes and provided guests with additional paid services: food, drinks, and related entertainment. Their average income per day was two thousand dollars.
How much does it cost to fix a football game?
Match-fixing is the scourge of modern sports. Significantly often, they are arranged in football. Here are the statistics on this type of fraudulent activity in different countries.
- In Croatia - $25 000;
- In Italy-up to $500 000;
- The total revenue of match-fixing organizers in the world is up to $15 000 000 000 per year;
- Record profit of the organizers - more than $2 600 000 000 for the match in Italy;
Underground gambling flourishes in Thailand.
Chulalongkorn University Institute for Social Research started collecting statistics on gambling in Thailand. The results were shocking:
- The total amount of underground bets is $21 - $27 billion;
- 64% of residents placed bets during the year;
- 63% of Thais began to play for money to twenty-four years;
- About twenty million participate in underground lotteries.
- A little over nineteen million buy tickets for the state lottery.
- More than three million Thais play at illegal establishments.
- Thailand has around seven hundred thousand to a million underground casinos, providing different types of gambling entertainment.
As you can see, most people in the country prefer illegal gambling.
Illegal Betting Statistics
Underground sweepstakes operate in most countries, covering all popular sports. Here is some interesting data:
- From eighty to three hundred and eighty dollars a year, accept underground bookmakers on football matches of the NFL League in the United States.
- Sixty to eighty billion dollars is the annual volume of underground bets on College football games in the USA.
- Thirty to forty billion dollars is the annual amount of illegal baseball betting in the United States.
- Every year at a basketball tournament, The March Madness Underground puts about two and a half billion dollars.
- One percent of NCAA League basketball games are fixed.
- About fifty billion dollars is the total annual turnover of illegal betting on cricket.
- According to FIFA, underground bookmakers' earnings from taking bets on football matches are about fifteen billion dollars annually.
- About a third of athletes who play for American college teams are betting. They are not allowed to participate in sweepstakes, so they act through figureheads or prefer illegal bookmakers.
- Underground sweepstakes account for up to 80% of the global betting industry.
Money Laundering through Gambling
Criminals have learned to launder money in various ways. Gambling is not the last one on this list. A few statistics:
- The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates that yearly, in Germany, from sixty-five to seventy-eight billion dollars are laundered. More than one hundred fifty million fraudsters launder using different types of underground gambling.
- According to the Chinese Congressional-Executive Commission report, up to two hundred and two billion dollars annually are laundered in Macau casinos.
- Paris Sorbonne and the International Sports Centre Security have estimated that up to one hundred and forty million sports bets are made to launder money.
Other Data on Unlawful Gambling
Finally, some more interesting statistics:
- At least 16% of American College students play online gambling at least once a month.
- In 2009, 600,000 people were arrested in China for participating in underground gambling.
- Experts say casinos in Macau hide a large part of their income. According to analysts, only in 2013, they concealed about ninety billion dollars, declaring only forty-five billion over the same period.
Here are some legal online casinos.
| Casino | Bonuses | Editors rating | |||
| 100% to 1000 USD x35 | Play T&C applies, 18+ | |||
| — | Play T&C applies, 18+ | |||
| — | Play T&C applies, 18+ | |||
| 125% to 80 USD x35 | Play T&C applies, 18+ | |||
| 100% to 400 USD x50 | Play T&C applies, 18+ |
Conclusion
Large sums of money rotate at casinos and other gambling establishments that attract scammers. In addition, the features of this type of business make it possible to carry out all kinds of financial fraud: launder money, arrange match-fixing, offer illegal services, and so on.
There can be no doubt that criminal activity in this industry will never stop, no matter how hard the authorities try to end it.
