A video store in Gwinnett County, Georgia recently was raided by police and the owner arrested for allegedly operating an illegal sportsbook. Authorities said most of the store’s stock was VHS tapes, not more modern DVDs, and the most recent movie available was from 2007. Police seized computers and other items.
Police had been aware of the illegal activities occurring at the video store for several years. But authorities said placing an undercover agent inside the gambling ring to collect the necessary evidence took a long time.
Meanwhile, the Macon District Attorney’s Office recently said a multi-jurisdictional investigation into illegal gambling at convenience stores led to a $14 million settlement with Georgia Atlanta Amusements LLC and helped shut down “one of biggest illegal gambling operations in Georgia,” District Attorney David Cooke said. “We’ve shut down a wide-reaching criminal enterprise in an industry that contributed to violent crime and preyed on low-income residents in our community.”
Cooke said Georgia Atlanta Amusements LLC, run by Junaid Virani and his family, owns 650 electronic gambling machines in 130 businesses across the state, allowing customers to “illegally gamble for the chance to win cash prizes.”
Virani recently pleaded guilty to making an illegal cash payout at a Bibb County store in 2018. And Cooke said Georgia Atlanta Amusements LLC failed to pay taxes on about $46 million customers won on the company’s machines, dating back to July 2015. The company has been banned from operating the illegal machines.
A judge will determine how to allocate the forfeited assets. Cooke said most likely the Georgia Lottery will receive around $3 million to help fund Hope Scholarships, and at least $1 million will go to pay taxes from operating the machines in Bibb County.
