Denver man convicted of operating illegal gambling parlor

A federal jury found a Denver man guilty of running an illegal gambling parlor at Player One Arcade in connection to a network of gambling parlors extending from Greeley to Pueblo.

Jonathan Arvay, 38, was found guilty of conducting an illegal gambling business, and conspiracy to do so, in connection to the Player One Arcade located at 970 S. Oneida Street in Denver, according to a news release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.

During the trial, evidence showed that Arvay’s business was part of a network of gambling parlors. In the arcade, disguised games offered electronic forms of gambling, as well as virtual slot machines in which customers attempted to earn credits, according to the press release.

The credits earned were then transferred to a purported cryptocurrency, Obsidian Digital Asset Coin (ODAC). The crypto currency was then exchanged for cash at an ATM-like “cryptocurrency teller machine” next door to or within the gambling parlor, the attorney’s office said. Customers were required to pay a transaction fee to exchange the ODAC for U.S. currency.

“These gambling dens masqueraded as arcades with a veneer of legitimacy,” Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Matt Kirsch said in the release. “I am grateful to law enforcement for digging beneath the veneer and finding that these establishments were causing real harm in our communities.”

“These defendants created a large, complex illegal gambling operation, both online and in person in Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Lakewood, Denver, Aurora, and Greeley. Their illicit proceeds led to crimes involving money laundering and fraud against the U.S. government, among other violations,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek.

Arvary is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 12. The maximum sentence for conducting an illegal gambling business is five years in prison.

The number listed for Player One Arcade was not in service Tuesday.