San Diego police on Thursday raided an illegal gambling parlor, seizing 23 video gaming machines, drugs, and more than $4,700 in cash.
An illegal gambling ring was busted on Thursday on the 4200 block of El Cajon Blvd. (Image: Google Street View)
The parlor operated out of a home located above a business in the Central San Diego neighborhood of Kensington.
Police began investigating the home based on tips from neighbors. On Thursday, they served a search warrant and found 9 people gambling inside. Police told the San Diego Union-Tribune they issued two misdemeanor citations — one for drug possession and another for visiting a prohibited gambling den.
First San Diego Raids in a While
The last illegal gambling parlors busted in San Diego occurred during a series of massive FBI raids on April 14, 2021 across the eastern part of the city.
The culmination of a two-year probe by the US attorney’s office, those raids hit 24 San Diego gambling dens, resulting in 35 arrests and charges against 47 people. FBI agents seized 640 gambling machines, 44 guns, more than 12 pounds of meth, and $263,000 in cash.
Such dens — often called “slaphouses” for the button-bashing sound made by patrons playing on illegal machines — often spring up behind seemingly vacant storefronts in areas where retail has taken a downturn.
California law generally allows gambling for charity and in neighborhood poker games, but never in organized illegal gambling houses. Gambling for profit is a highly regulated industry restricted mostly to tribal casinos, card rooms, horse betting, and the state lottery.
While illegal gambling is only a misdemeanor under California law, underground parlors are operated by criminals often tied to violence, drugs, and gang activity.
California has seen a marked increase in underground gambling dens in recent years.
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