Gambling Raid Funds City Police Equipment, Vehicles

Gambling News - January 10th, 2010 - Written By Glen

The city of Greer, South Carolina had recently seen an infusion of cash from a big win from gambling. Illegal gambling, that is, as the Greer Police Department has received a portion of money forfeited by a person who had been arrested in a federal video poker gambling case.

Greer Resident Billy Joe Hindman had been sentenced for his involvement in the illegal video gambling case, and has, as terms of his conviction, been required to forfeit $9 million dollars. Of this $9 million, $1.3 million has gone to the Greer Police Department.

While Greer had been facing a financial crisis, the $1.3 million has been a veritable bail out for the Department. New squad cars were purchased, as were service weapons, surveillance equipment for the narcotics division, and smart signs. The smart signs are displays that will show driver's their speeds, in the hopes that it will curtail speeding.

The initial purchases of firearms, cars, and electronics only represented a portion of the $1.3 million spent, and the remaining funds are set to be budgeted out over the next three years.

While illegal gambling operation stings are regularly being conducted, it is not common to see the agencies operating the bust receiving the seized funds, especially on a smaller, municipal scale. Particularly in the case of Online Gambling stings, tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars are sometimes confiscated. This money represents a small fraction of the funds that can be generated through the taxes paid, both on illegal land gambling and unlicensed online casinos, and is not replicable - another reason why legal Online Gambling legislation is currently in the process of moving through Congress.