Kosovo police shut down gambling centres all over the country on Friday as parliament voted to suspend gambling activity, pending an outright ban, following two murders linked to casinos. The extraordinary parliamentary session was called by the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, whose leader in parliament, Avdullah Hoti, proposed the motion to ban all the gambling features for at least 30 days.
“We can’t allow casinos that feed crime and gambling to determine the fate of individuals and our families,” Hoti said.
In the other hand, Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said he supported the clampdown.
“In the face of this situation, we will not allow these venues to be arenas of crime that claim people’s lives. The government and security mechanisms are already mobilized to react and prevent further degradation of the situation” said Haradinaj.
As the parliamentary session was ongoing, police started closing gambling centers and casinos all over the country. The police action was joined by Kosovo Customs and the Tax Administration of Kosovo. Finally, a police officer was arrested as a suspect in the murder assault.
