The Italian police have managed to unveil a wide network of illegal online betting operated by criminal organisations whose gaming platform is situated in Malta.

The police in Catania, Sicily, have named the operation Master Bet and the Italian media say that this investigation has severely harmed the criminal organisations involved.

Some 107 people have been interrogated about the fraud which, according to the Catania police, involves millions of euros each month. The large sums of money were laundered through complex networks. 13 persons are being held under house arrest as suspects while 46 interested parties have had their commercial assets seized.

Out of the investigations, it emerged that these organisations had contacted a Maltese former police inspector who used to work at the financial crimes investigation department and who has been recently arrested by the Maltese authorities suspected with the involvement in another crime.

One of the persons being held under house arrest is a certain Francesco Airo. The 37-year-old from Agrigento was recently arrested for conspiracy in illegal betting activities involved with representatives of the Camorra, and is the owner of a business in Malta.

According to the Italian police, which conducted a very complex investigation, hundreds of people are involved in the fraud which took place on gaming websites.

The widespread series of arrests stretches from Catania, Ragusa, Messina, Trapani, Milan, Napoli and Rome itself. Malta is not mentioned in the list of cities involved.

There are two major criminal organisations involved. The two owned seven websites used for illegal betting in Italy. They operated without the necessary permits from the state and their gaming platforms were registered in Malta.

The police managed to trace the organisations by monitoring telephone calls and other forms of communication.

The Italian authorities said that this latest accomplishment is very meaningful also from a social point of view, as gambling has dragged a lot of people into huge trouble. “The financial crisis is an accomplice of this problem,” a prosecutor was quoted as saying.