Annual gambling tax damage, 110 million USD

But only now the authorities are bringing the real figures, which are shocking. After the massive operation for closing the illegal subjects, the Interior Ministry, the Tax Directory and the Gambling Unit declared that two thirds of the gambling industry in Albania was illegal.

Sources from the Gambling Unit say for Top Channel that after the verifications, the total tax evasion from gambling mounts up to 110 million USD each year, twice bigger than the revenues that the state collects from this industry. In only five years it has removed 5% of the Gross Domestic Product.

All of this happened in a time when public finances in Albania entered a dangerous crisis downfall. But the budget gap is not the only cost. Experts say that the illegal development has turned this industry into a source of crime, with strong suspects for money laundering and other criminal activities. On the other hand, a massive spread in areas where they have been banned has caused several suicides, divorces and ruining of families.

The law says that these businesses cannot be built close to schools, hospitals and religious institutions, and this has been violated due to the lack of state control. Authorities say tha the war against the black gambling empire will continue.

According to the Supervising Unit of Gambling, after discovering the illegal shops, now they are working to find the real people that hide behind them. After this, the government will take all the necessary steps for recovering the revenues that they have hidden, and bringing them to the law.

Top Channel