According to 20 Minuten, citing the “10vor10” TV programme, the Swiss Federal Gaming Board (ESBK) has sent a warning to the country’s 19 casinos.
“This letter is to inform you that several alleged cases of fraud have been observed within various casinos. The suspects, of Russian nationality (St. Petersburg), play Novomatic gaming machines of the type ‘Gaminator’ or ‘Supergaminator’,” the letter reportedly said.
The investigation into how the slot machines may have been tampered with or otherwise compromised is likely to take a few weeks due to the amount of data that has to be checked. Swiss law stipulates that anyone who enters a casino in the country must be filmed on videotape.
A suspect in the case was arrested in Pfäffikon, near Zurich, reports said, and others members of the gang have been put on a blacklist. No details on the sums involved in the scam have been disclosed.
Some casinos have immediately installed a security upgrade, Detlef Brose, Director of the Grand Casino Baden was quoted as saying in the reports.