 COSTA RICA NEWSPAPER: Immigration and labor raid causes fear at gaming firms
Immigration and labor raid causes fear at gaming firms
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
FEB 5, 2007
Foreign employees and managers in sportsbooks and other gambling Web sites are on edge today because immigration and labor ministry investigators staged a raid Friday morning.
The raid, which has not been confirmed by any official agency, took place at a gambling operation in Oficentro La Sabana. The news of the raid sent ripples through other Internet gambling operations.
Workers said they thought that someone had tipped sportsbook executives because many of them did not show up for work Friday.
In the case of the Oficentro la Sabana operation, several persons were taken into custody, unofficial sources said, adding that officials also visited an operation in Rohrmoser and another in San Pedro.
The sportsbook and gambling industry employs many foreigners who do not have the right to work or stay in Costa Rica. The industry has been notorious for providing false or doctored tourist visa renewals for its employees.
Working illegally comes under the domain of both the Ministerio de Trabajo and the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería.
Another immigration raid, this one Friday night, resulted in the detention of 26 women and two men. They were found inside the Hotel Del Rey, a well-known gathering place for prostitutes and those who would employ them.
A Del Rey manager said that the raid was another in a series of investigations at the hotel, located at Avenida 1 and Calle 9. Immigration officials visit the hotel along with Fuerza Pública officers about once every two months to check the identification and legality of those they find there.
Shortly after the detentions, the Del Rey was operating normally with a large number of men and women in the bar, casino and other public areas.  | 
BETCRIS 
02-05-2007, 06:24 AM
Similar Threads 
