Police shut down almost 5,300 gambling halls by Friday evening

10:04, 21.12.2019 1 min read

Law enforcement authorities have shut down almost 5,300 gambling halls and seized equipment worth about UAH 50 million, an operation to close illegal gambling facilities is under way, the National Police of Ukraine reported on Facebook on Friday.

"At present, there are 715 mobile groups comprising investigators and employees of the Department of Strategic Investigations. The mobile groups are constantly monitoring, as well as taking measures to prevent illegal gambling," it said.

The police have asked citizens to report on any illegal gambling halls and promise to immediately respond to all such reports.

Earlier on Friday, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said that pursuant to the government’s decision, law enforcement agencies should shut down all illegal gambling halls at 16:00 Kyiv time on December 20.

As of 15:00 on the same day, police had reported they had checked more than 500 establishments in all regions of Ukraine.