Operator News
Argentina – Tierra del Fuego arson attack could be linked to new gaming laws
By Phil - 4 September 2017Tierra del Fuego Security Secretary Ezequiel Murray has not ruled out that an arson attack that occurred recently at the headquarters of the Provincial Institute of Regulation and Betting (IPRA) may be related with recent announcements by the government in relation to the online control of slot machines in the province.
“We are not ruling out any hypothesis and it strikes us that just days ago the governor (Rosana Bertone) made an important announcement regarding their control. We are not ruling out any possibilities because this fire was intentional,” said the official.
Murray added that police were checking security footage outside the building. The fire started shortly after am on Monday 21st in the administrative sector of the building. “The event has us concerned and we will work more on security, but in no way will this make us go back on any issue raised by the governor.” According to local press reports the President of the IPRA Abel Galeano been given police protection at his home while the investigation is underway.
The local government believes that the timing of the attack is significant as the governor recently announced that all slot machines in casinos in the province will now be monitored online and in real time by a central government-controlled server which will report all transactions to the local tax authority.
“If anyone believes that this was a warning, the truth is they are wrong because this gives us more strength to get to the bottom of it,” Murray said. Meanwhile the Chief of Staff for the province, Leonardo Gorbacz, said that “the intentionality (of the fire) is proven and of course one can only link it with the work that the government is doing.” The fire, he added, occurred only after the government had made a number of announcements regarding stricter control of casinos. “When you go against the mafia you have to be prepared for these kinds of responses. . . The truth is that we cannot, until this is finished, determine and hold anyone accountable, but we have the strong suspicion that we are dealing with an obviously intentional occurrence that is intended to twist the arm of the provincial government for the measures it has been taking,” he said.