SAN JOSE -On January 3, 2017, California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) agents posted a 30-day Notice of Suspension at San Carlos Liquors in San Jose.   The store is prohibited from selling alcohol until February 3, 2017 after ABC agents discovered an illegal gambling device on the premises. Agents seized one freestanding gambling device and issued a misdemeanor citation to the owner for possessing the machine.

This is the second time in a year that the alcoholic beverage license at San Carlos Liquors has been suspended for 30 days. In 2016, ABC agents also discovered an illegal gambling device and drug paraphernalia at San Carlos Liquors and posted a Notice of Suspension from June 30, 2016 through July 29, 2016.  At that time, the license was also placed on probation for three years.

“It is not in a community or neighborhood’s best interest to have illegal gambling taking place inside a liquor store,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona.  “When you consider how many liquor licenses are issued and held in the State of California, and the number of ABC agents there are to be sure they are all complying with the law, you recognize ABC agents have their work cut out for them.  Their work directly impacts the safety of our streets and neighborhoods.”

In an ABC news release, ABC cites that according to the National Council on Problem Gambling, unregulated gambling puts consumers at risk and results in social costs of approximately $7 billion a year in the United States.