Underground gambling halls (Venezuela)

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1) Where underground halls come from

The decade-long "pause" after the 2011 political ban and the lack of a single national online framework for gambling have created demand for informal venues - from "machine gun rooms" to hidden halls in bars and private spaces. Even after the partial "restart" of land-based casinos in 2021-2023, the digital part has not received a full-fledged federal regime, which supports the gray segment and offshore practices. This is directly written by industry and news materials about the revival of the casino and the previous "cloaca" of the underground.

What is legal: the basic offline frame is set by a 1997 law that regulates casinos, bingo and slot machines, introduces permitting and sanctions. But it does not describe Internet modality, which means that the "digital" register of permitted sites/hall has not been formed.

2) What it looks like on the ground: typical diagrams

Fronts and "screens." Underground halls are disguised as bars, clubs, "internet cafes" or private apartments; inside - slots, video poker, roulettes. Police and prosecutors regularly show the same type of seizures in publications.

Hardware. Illegal machines without admission/certification, without connection to state monitoring, sometimes - used cars brought out of account.

Cache model. Cash settlements, a minimum of KYC and "no registration" - that is why such points are vulnerable to fraud and force seizures.

3) What the regulator and law enforcement agencies are doing

Since 2021, the state has not only allowed a limited range of legal casinos, but also included technical control through interconnection - online real-time monitoring of gaming machines for licensed sites. For the gray segment, this means a higher risk of detection: everything is "not on the wire" - under the gun of raids.

• In 2019, the media reported the seizure of 12 illegal slots in one of the capital's establishments.
• In 2020, the state police of Zulia (Maracaibo) reported on the defeat of the "house of games," detaining 11 people.
• In 2021, profile media recorded the closure of two underground casinos in the country and the seizure of about 50 machines.

At the same time, the institutional contour of the Casino Commission (CNC), subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was updated - this is confirmed by acts on appointments and publications of the regulatory resources themselves.

4) Why the underground holds - and how dangerous it is

Legal gap online. There is no federal regime of "games operated via the Internet," a unified register of domains/applications and requirements for the CCM/responsible game - part of the demand flows to offshore companies and "gray" halls.

Cash economy. Cash turnover and lack of fiscalization create an incentive for "garage" halls and mobile points.

Risks to the player. There are no guarantees of payment, no complaint mechanisms, the likelihood of fraud and pressure is high.

Operator risks. Raids, seizures, fines and criminal-administrative consequences - examples of operations regularly fall into the news.

5) How to distinguish a "white" hall from an underground one (short memo)

1. Location and signage. Legal venues operate in tourist areas/hotels, have official channels and public regulations. Underground - "back rooms," apartments, bars without permits.

2. Technical trace. Legal - machines are connected to the interconnection system (this is checked by the regulator); the underground has "hardware" without monitoring.

3. Publicity. Legal casinos have official pages/accounts and communication with the regulator/hotel; underground avoids publicity and works "on the call."

6) What to change systemically (if the goal is to dry the gray market)

Adopt a full online framework: definitions, B2C licensing, KYC/AML and responsible play requirements, domain/application registry. This channels the demand from the underground/offshore to the "white" operators.

Expand law enforcement "by design": joint orders of the Ministry of Internal Affairs/telecom regulator/financial supervision + regular reports on locks/seizures, as is already being done pointwise.

Consumer communication: public lists of permitted halls and a hotline for complaints about the underground.

Underground halls in Venezuela are a consequence of a legal gap (especially online) and a long industry "spider": they quickly appear in niches where there is no license, interconnection and public reporting. The state conducts raids and implements online control for legal cars, but until a full digital framework and system supervision appear, gray dots will replace players with a safe and transparent alternative. A practical guideline: choose licensed sites at hotels/tourist zones and avoid "rooms with machine guns" without signs of legality.