Kuwait Police raid Flat used for Illegal Gambling

Authorities in the small, Persian Gulf country of Kuwait have raided a flat that hosted illegal gambling. Security officers arrested 11 foreigners in connection with the gambling operation.

“The officers raided the flat after monitoring it for several days following tips about men going there for illegal activities,” a source said. “Investigations revealed that seven Asians and four Arabs were running the gambling in the flat. They were all arrested and referred to the competent authorities for legal action.”

This is the second high-profile gambling case this year in Kuwait. Back in February, a doctor was arrested for running an illegal casino in the country. This raid saw 33 other people arrested in connection with the casino, including one American and three Europeans. The American also owned a casino in the U.S., while the three Europeans were experienced in running international gambling halls.

This operation, which charged unusually high fees to players, was believed to have been one of the largest illegal casinos in Kuwait, where gambling is prohibited.

It’s doubtful that the raids will end following the two large busts in 2015. Gulf News reports that smaller casinos are currently operating in other parts of Kuwait. And it will only be a matter of time before officials raid these dens too.

Aside from the land-based operations that are currently running, Kuwait’s government is concerned about the growing number of their citizens who enjoy online gambling. However, the term “gambling” is murky in this case because most of the play is believed to revolve around blackjack, poker and roulette on social media sites.

In the U.S., for example, playing casino games on social media sites isn’t necessarily considered gambling because players don’t actually compete for cash winnings; instead, they can pay money for extra funds, which are used to win non-monetary accolades. But in the United Kingdom, social media sites like Facebook are also allowed to offer real money gambling.

It’s unclear which variety of social gaming that Kuwait citizens are engaging in. But whatever the case may be, it’s obvious that their government is cracking down on any activity that involves games of chance. Going further, Kuwait may be moving in the same direction as the U.S., which, just four years ago, busted some of the world’s biggest poker sites for money laundering.