{"id":303615,"date":"2026-06-11T06:42:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T06:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/303615\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T06:42:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T06:42:18","slug":"ag-uthmeier-announces-operation-sunset-stakes-11-arrests-made-in-illegal-gambling-scheme-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/303615\/","title":{"rendered":"AG Uthmeier announces ‘Operation Sunset Stakes’, 11 arrests made in illegal gambling scheme | State"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAPLES, Fla. (WINK) \u2014 Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier<\/a> has announced the completion of \u201cOperation Sunset Stakes,\u201d an illegal gaming investigation<\/a> that yielded the arrest of 11 people.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Uthmeier, along with Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, and Florida Gaming Control Commission Chair Julie Brown, shared the results of Operation Sunset Stakes.<\/p>\n

In total, 479 illegal gambling machines and $294,000 in illegal proceeds were seized by the state attorney and local county sheriff\u2019s offices, led by the Florida Gaming Control Commission.<\/p>\n

Sheriff Carmine Marceno shared Lee County\u2019s contribution to the operation, stating that over $107,000, 226 machines, and six arrests have been made.<\/p>\n

In Collier County, $187,000, 253 machines, and five arrests have been made, bringing the total to the figure previously mentioned by Uthmeier at the beginning of the conference.<\/p>\n

\"Uthmeier<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Deborah Udut spent about five years working at Oasis Arcade, one of four Collier County businesses targeted during Operation Sunset Stakes.<\/p>\n

Udut said she was surprised when investigators executed a search warrant at the arcade and seized computers and other equipment. She said she believed the business was operating legally and described it as a gathering place for many of its regular customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as any illegal activity, I have never seen any illegal activity here,\u201d Udut said. \u201cThey were pretty strict on who they let in and who they didn\u2019t. If somebody was a little unsavory, they just asked them to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Udut said many of the arcade\u2019s customers were seniors and neighborhood residents who came to socialize and spend time together. She said she never witnessed the types of criminal activity state leaders linked to some illegal gambling operations during Wednesday\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n

State leaders, however, maintain that illegal gambling businesses can be connected to larger criminal enterprises, including money laundering, human trafficking, and drug trafficking. Investigators seized 36 machines and more than $15,000 in cash from Oasis Arcade during the operation, according to the Collier County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

NAPLES, Fla. (WINK) \u2014 Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has announced the completion of \u201cOperation Sunset Stakes,\u201d an illegal gaming investigation that yielded the arrest of 11 people.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

Officials also announced a new law enforcement task force is now targeting illegal arcades across Southwest Florida, and investigators say it could dramatically increase the number of raids and arrests in the region.<\/p>\n

The Florida Gaming Control Commission launched the task force specifically to shut down illegal arcade operations locally. The new division brings additional squads and personnel to the area.<\/p>\n

According to the commission, the task force could increase illegal arcade investigations by 66%.<\/p>\n

FGCC Chair Julie Brown said the effort is a direct message to those running illegal operations.<\/p>\n

“We’re going to have a team here that’s going to be boots on the ground to protect the communities,” Julie said. “We’re expanding our resources, we’ve got these proven partners right behind us and throughout the state, and we are coming after you.”<\/p>\n

Local and state leaders also mentioned how penalties are not harsh enough. A bill in Tallahassee that would have increased criminal penalties for illegal gaming failed this session.<\/p>\n

“We’ll be working hard to get our legislation to step up and heighten these penalties to felonies, where people will be serious time,” James Uthmeier, FL Attorney General, said. “Unfortunately, this last session wasn’t the most productive. They didn’t get it done.”<\/p>\n

The bill would have made operating an illegal gambling establishment a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. Currently, the offense is only a misdemeanor.<\/p>\n

No new bill has been filed yet, but WINK Investigates will continue to monitor any legislative developments.<\/p>\n

Watch the entire conference above.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NAPLES, Fla. (WINK) \u2014 Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has announced the completion of \u201cOperation Sunset Stakes,\u201d an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":303616,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7353,28,30,29,325,115,914],"class_list":["post-303615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-collier","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-lee","tag-news","tag-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/303616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}