Blake Carl Fitzgerald is staring down a potential jail term, following his involvement in an unlawful betting operation. This 40-year-old individual reportedly leveraged livestream platforms to place bets for other parties.
The resident of Minnesota reportedly orchestrated this illicit operation over TikTok and Discord, as reported by local news agency Bring Me the News. The charge sheet alleges that Fitzgerald conducted this activity between October and December 2022.
From his participants, Fitzgerald allegedly amassed more than $65,103 via CashApp and Venmo. Leveraging these funds, he played slots at Lake Casino & Resort and Treasure Island Casino, while simultaneously sharing a livestream of his gameplay on TikTok. According to the charge sheet, throughout the livestreams, Fitzgerald often mentioned the names of his subscribers, prompting them to select the slot they wanted him to play.
Fitzgerald stuck to an agreement wherein he retained more than half of the winning amounts, forwarding the remainder to his subscribers. However, if he ran out of gameplay time, he ensured to return the funds to his participants.
In exchange for this service, Fitzgerald extracted a subscription fee of $5.99 from his group of followers. Furthermore, he maintained constant communication with his followers through a Discord server.
In the meantime, Minnesota is still battling to legalize sports betting.
Potential Prison Time for Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald’s clandestine operation was exposed when an unidentified source lodged a complaint with the Minnesota Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division. This paved the way for an in-depth investigation revealing Fitzgerald as the brains behind the operation. Furthermore, investigators unraveled the involvement of another participant in the unlawful activity.
While the identity of the accomplice remains unrevealed pending formal accusations, Fitzgerald currently faces three counts of managing a prohibited gambling business.
The architect of this unlawful TikTok betting operation faces the prospect of a maximum prison sentence of three years, accompanied by fines that potentially reach thousands of dollars, as per the final report by Bring Me the News.
On another note, the California law enforcement continues their crackdown on unlawful gambling dens. Amid a raid carried out in July, the police managed to apprehend three individuals and confiscated several betting machines along with firearms.
The individuals nabbed during the raid are currently facing charges for unlawful firearm possession.
Elsewhere, sporting figures from Iowa stand accused of participating in illegal betting. A total of eight people involved, including current players, former athletes and a student assistant, were discovered to have been placing bets through third-party accounts.
In Spain, allegations of match-fixing led to the arrest of 17 individuals, subsequent to a comprehensive investigation.
