JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office recently shut down an illegal gambling operation on the city’s Northside, arresting and accusing two people, who were employees at the illegally run business, of keeping a gambling house.
The raid took place Friday night at a business on Haverford Road, where officers executed a search warrant on Oct. 3, uncovering multiple illegal gambling machines and seizing cash from the premises.
The machines were confiscated and handed over to the Florida Gaming Commission at the scene. According to arrest reports from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO), the vice unit has observed a growing number of illegal gambling establishments in Duval County.
These operations often disguise themselves under names like “internet cafes,” “adult arcades,” or “internet sweepstakes,” and sometimes have no visible signage at all, making them difficult to identify.
JSO also noted a troubling increase in crime linked to these illegal gambling venues. Patrol officers have responded to various incidents at these locations, including homicides, shootings, robberies, and burglaries. Because these businesses often hold large amounts of cash on-site, many employ armed security guards, which adds to the risk of violent confrontations.
Tom Hackney, retired JSO director of investigations and current crime and safety analyst for News4JAX, emphasized the dangers these underground gaming rooms pose to the community.
“It’s a cash run operation, and because of that, it’s a prime opportunity,” Hackney said.
Hackney’s warnings are grounded in real incidents where robberies inside game rooms have escalated into fatal shootings. These violent episodes were among the reasons Jacksonville city leaders banned gaming rooms involving “internet cafe” sweepstakes or slot machine-style gambling in Duval County back in 2019.
Despite the ban, Hackney explained that illegal gaming rooms continue to operate because they remain highly profitable for those running them. “For a very small investment, they’re able to do these predatory things,” he said.
He described these operations as predatory because they target low-income neighborhoods where residents may repeatedly spend their hard-earned money hoping to strike it rich.
“That’s where they choose this because those are the good victims. Those are the victims who come in repeatedly and continue to put their hard-earned savings into this,” Hackney explained.
Adding to the harm, Hackney said many of the gambling machines found in these underground operations are rigged.
Following the recent raid, city code enforcement issued a stop-work order after discovering unpermitted electrical work inside the building, which posed a safety hazard.