Lottery: Scams & Scandals


Finance Minister, Vincenzo Visco, expressed his dismay when he first learnt about it. "I have learned," he stated, "that some employees of the ministry are involved in a sordid affair linked to one of the oldest and most popular games of chance, the


Lotto. While it seems they may have themselves been victims of others' criminal actions, the most concerning aspect for me is that, once again, the good faith of Italians has been has been betrayed by unfaithful State employees.”


ITALY


Te Blindfolded Children In 1999 nine individuals were arrested for allegedly fixing the numbers in a state-run lottery. A minor official from the finance ministry, responsible for ensuring the integrity of the lottery draw in Milan and the mastermind behind the scheme, informed the police about more than 100 instances of fraud that occurred between 1995 and 1997. As he was responsible for preparing the draws: he would


align the 90 metal balls in a box into which a functionary would insert pieces of paper with the numbers before placing them into a rotating basket from which a blindfolded child would draw five balls designated for the Milan wheel. He noticed that when the functionary placed the numbers


into the balls, he always followed the same pattern. In order for it to work all he and his conspirators had to do was to ensure that at least five of the balls were shinier than the others, making them distinguishable, enabling them to know in advance which numbers would be drawn. Te rest would be taken care of by the child, either from an orphanage or related to finance ministry officials, who would select the shiny balls thanks to a blindfold manipulated by another accomplice. Certain spheres, specifically the first 20 numbers, were


treated to appear shinier, while others were made duller. Consequently, those involved could predict with reasonable certainty which numbers would be drawn, enabling them to gamble large sums of money on these “safe” bets. Te prosecutor in the case later recalled hearing about it for


the first time from investigators “I was sceptical; it was unbelievable. It seemed impossible that such a tightly monitored mechanism could be easily altered for so long,” he said. But the scheme worked too well. Eventually the official who


dreamed up the scheme wanted out. However, according to Te Guardian, some of his co-conspirators refused to accept that it


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had to stop. Tey initiated a campaign of intimidation to force him to reconsider. Gunshots were fired at his car and at businesses owned by his family members. In November, feeling desperate, his wife reached out to the police for help. Tis eventually led to the arrest of the first six individuals (four of whom had prior criminal records) during a raid dubbed Dea Bendata (Lady Luck). Around 40 people were convicted in the trials. Millions of dollars were thought to have been siphoned off by the organisers of the scam. Finance Minister, Vincenzo Visco, expressed his dismay


when he first learnt about it. “I have learned,” he stated, “that some employees of the ministry are involved in a sordid affair linked to one of the oldest and most popular games of chance, the Lotto. While it seems they may have themselves been victims of others' criminal actions, the most concerning aspect for me is that, once again, the good faith of Italians has been has been betrayed by unfaithful State employees.”


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