Italian police said on Wednesday they had seized assets worth 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) and issued 41 arrest warrants in raids on gambling companies in Italy and abroad run by the ‘Ndrangheta mafia organization. Police believe the firms, including six that were operating out of Malta, were used to launder vast sums of illicit cash. Italy’s mafia groups, including the ‘Ndrangheta from the southern region of Calabria, the Camorra from Naples and Sicily’s Cosa Nostra, have strengthened their grip on southern Italy’s economy and spread to the richer north during a three-year economic slump. Among the targets of Wednesday’s…

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has suspended the licences of a number of gaming companies in the country due to alleged relationships between the operators and Mafia-type criminal organisation, the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta’. According to the Times of Malta newspaper, the allegations claim the companies form part of a global network also involving operators in Italy, Austria, Romania and Spain. Led by Italian national Mario Gennaro, the Ndrangheta is said to have set up a number of betting companies in Malta as part of the organisation’s illegal gaming activities. Gennaro yesterday (Wednesday) appeared in Maltese court alongside six other Italians, all…

CBS – Bookmakers and organized crime members have long profited in the high-stakes world of illegal sports gambling. New Jersey is now appealing to the Supreme Court to legalize betting on games. The state hopes to collect millions. However, as CBS News’ legal analyst Jack Ford reports on “60 Minutes Sports,” the ruling won’t put the mob out of business. If it becomes legal, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has said there would be strict state oversight, much like the way it works at his state’s Atlantic City’s casinos. But Angelo Lutz, who is a legitimate businessman and restaurateur, told…