Eight spaza shop owners were arrested in Temba‚ north of Pretoria‚ after 10 gambling machines were confiscated from their shops on Tuesday.

The police embarked on a joint operation with members of the Gauteng Gambling Board. They found that the shop owners were using the machines without the required licences.

Police spokeswoman Captain Sarah Lesabane said the illegal gambling machines were mostly operated by minors.

The shop owners were fined and later released. “They were charged with illegally operating gambling machines in their shops” said Lesabane.