TAMPA, Fla. – Gaming officials are cracking down on illegal gambling across the state. 

The Florida Gaming Control Commission confirmed on Tuesday that they seized more than $1 million in cash and assets from four illegal gambling operations in Fort Pierce, Delray Beach, St. Petersburg, and Tampa.

In January, the Florida Gaming Control Commission said it received a complaint from the public about an illegal gaming operation in Fort Pierce. 

It says previous investigations showed the operator in Fort Pierce was also running illegal gambling operations in the Bay Area.

A man hauling away a slot machine that was allegedly used for illegal gambling. 

One by one, officials wheeled out as many as 44 illegal slot machines from the Lucky Game Lounge on Gunn Highway near Plantation Boulevard in Tampa Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, in St. Peterburg, officials busted a different facility run out of a business suite in the Twin Brooks Commons strip mall near I-275 and 22nd Avenue South, where they removed 103 slot machines.

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“The way gambling is set up in the state is that it’s essentially prohibited unless it’s one of the few exceptions,” Florida Gaming Control Commission Executive Director Louis Trombetta said.

Exterior of the Lucky Game Lounge. 

The exceptions include properties operated by the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, like the Seminole Hard Rock. It also includes Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Eight non-tribal businesses are licensed to offer slot machines within those two counties.

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“These types of establishments don’t fit any of those exceptions. They’re just illegal,” Trombetta said.

Slot machines being seized and loaded onto truck. 

A shop owner that works in the same strip mall told FOX 13 that operators at the Lucky Game Lounge passed out flyers in the area trying to bring people inside, promising big wins. Once the facility is busy and packed with players, a rep for the Florida Gaming Control Commission says that’s when the operators would rig the machines and scale back the winnings. In one instance, a man won $10,000, but the operator refused to pay out his winnings.

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“People are doing this because there is money to be made. We’re trying to stop that from happening,” Trombetta said.

Exterior shots of a facility that got busted for illegal gambling. 

FOX 13 asked the Florida Gaming Control Commission about arrests but was told they are unable to talk about potential arrests at this point but did confirm they are pursuing charges.

If you suspect a facility of illegal gambling, you’re encouraged to report it through the commission’s website by clicking here.