Roaming RV Casinos Latest Illicit Gambling Trend in Northern California’s Oakland

Posted on: March 18, 2025, 03:05h. 

Last updated on: March 18, 2025, 03:05h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More

Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

• Oakland police say an RV was used as an illegal gambling outfit
• Underground gambling remains a serious problem in California
• Oakland is amid a housing crisis

The Oakland Police Department says there’s a new trend in underground gambling that allows the bad actors behind the illegal operations to more easily evade law enforcement.

The police department that enforces the law in the Easy Bay area of San Francisco continues to crack down on illegal gambling hubs. From March 1 to March 5, the Oakland Police Department executed multiple search warrants at several locations, including the 1400 and 1900 blocks of 17th Avenue and the 9200 block of Plymouth Street.

In a release, the OPD revealed that an informant tipped off the agency regarding an RV parked on 17th Ave. on the 1400 block. The tip came after police pulled over the driver for a minor violation.

Police investigated the tip and saw an electronic slot-like gaming machine inside the vehicle. Officers later returned with a search warrant in hand where they discovered and seized ammunition, firearm magazines, and a ledger of the gambling outfit’s money in and out. The recreational vehicle in question was a 1990 Oshkosh.

Nine Arrested 

The release from the Oakland Police Department identified nine suspects alleged to be linked to the three illegal gambling enterprises. At the two other underground gambling hubs located inside physical properties, more than a dozen firearms, methamphetamine, unlicensed gambling machines and arcade games, and ammunition were confiscated.

OPD remains committed to proactive policing to enhance public safety and will continue to take action to prevent violence and ensure the safety and well-being of our community members,” the statement clarified.

Police have regularly expressed their difficulties in eradicating illegal gambling from the city that’s notorious for crime since it was the epicenter of what became the crack cocaine epidemic in the 1980s. Law enforcement says underground gambling centers have popped up only weeks after police seized their gaming machines and arrested those allegedly involved. Scant prosecution of the individuals and light sentences, when they are found guilty, have resulted in an unending problem, officers say. 

RV Casinos Pose Law Enforcement Hurdles

Oakland is amid a housing crisis. Police pinpointing a roaming casino inside an RV, which has become a popular housing alternative, with many older model recreational vehicles being used as residences, will only make infiltrating illegal gambling hubs more difficult.

The idea that illegal gamblers may be moving their operation into RVs — a type of vehicle proliferated throughout the Bay Area due to the ongoing housing crisis — may make the [illegal gambling] problem that much harder to contain,” The Mercury News reported.

However, the casino RV police raided reportedly had “two telltale signs,” The Mercury added — “a distinctive surveillance camera outside, and colorful, flicking lights that would shine through the RV’s windows throughout the night.”

Oakland’s In-N-Out became the company’s first location to ever close. The burger joint chain cited crime and the safety of its employees for the decision to shutter. The In-N-Out was about five miles south of where police discovered the RV casino.