Illegal betting: Tonali and Zaniolo cell phones seized

Online platforms through which to bet on sporting and non-sporting events. Unlicensed clandestine sites that can only be accessed with an invitation. Bets worth thousands of euros behind which the underworld could hide. This is where the earthquake that is shaking football is born and which could turn into a new “scommettopoli” given the involvement of several players (and it is not excluded that other names could soon appear). In reality, football and footballers are completely marginal for the Turin Prosecutor’s Office: the investigation into which Fagioli, Tonali and Zaniolo ended up is much broader and more complex and concerns in particular the organized crime that could be behind the clandestine bets. The criminal investigation is still in full swing: Turin’s mobile squad began collecting material on a round of illicit betting a few months ago.

the crime

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The head of the investigation is Manuela Pedrotta, deputy prosecutor of Group 7, Terrorism and subversion of public order. Pedrotta, 56 years old, deals with anti-mafia and organized crime and supported the prosecution in the maxi trial against the No Tav. Yesterday Zaniolo and Tonali were also entered in the register of suspects, like Fagioli, and the contested crime refers to the law 401 in force since 13 December 1989, “Interventions in the illegal gaming and betting sector and protection of correctness in the holding of sporting events”, which states that “anyone who illegally carries out the organization of lottery games or betting or competitions predictions that the law reserves to the State or to another concessionary body, is punished with imprisonment from six months to three years”, and also that “anyone who participates in competitions, games, bets managed in the manner referred to in paragraph 1, outside of the cases of complicity in one of the crimes envisaged by the same, is punished with imprisonment of up to three months or with a fine of between one hundred thousand and one million lire”. This is the case of the athletes involved, who risk less criminally than on the sporting side.

the illicit

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Gambling in Italy is not a crime and betting is not prohibited regardless, not even for a footballer, as long as you bet on legitimate channels and not on the sport you practice, in this case football. The investigation starts from the identification of illegal bookmakers to try to trace whoever illegally set up the entire online system to collect bets. In Italy it is possible to bet but only if you do so on platforms authorized by the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM and AAMS). Everything is fine, therefore, as long as you do not make bets of any kind on sites that do not have an Italian concession and operate with a license from a country outside the European Union or the European Economic Area.

cell phones seized

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The investigation revealed bets worth thousands of euros, payments, debts and partial balances. Names and IP addresses that the mobile team is still investigating. Among the many, Fagioli’s also emerged and was the first to be heard by the Turin Prosecutor’s Office. He admitted to the investigators that he had bet and also provided other useful information for the investigation. After Fagioli, yesterday it was the turn of Tonali and Zaniolo: some agents from the Turin flying squad, accompanied by men from the Digos of Florence, showed up at Coverciano, the headquarters of the national team, to notify the investigation documents to the two Azzurri. Both players had been brought up by Fabrizio Corona and perhaps this pushed the Turin Prosecutor’s Office to speed up. In any case, it is conceivable that the two players would still have been reached before returning to England, to avoid having to resort to an international letter rogatory. The cell phones of the two Italians have been seized: the investigators hope to find links as to who was just betting and who was instead organizing the entire clandestine betting ring. The suspicion is that the mafia is behind it.