MOSCOW, May 30 (RAPSI) - The Moscow police have proposed changing current legislation, which requires proof that an individual has made at least 1.5 million rubles ($47,450) in income by organizing gambling activities to bring charges against them, an official told the media on Thursday.

"We have proposed eliminating the monetary threshold from the Criminal Code article on the illegal organization of gambling," Andrei Voronenkov, the deputy head of the Interior Ministry's Economic Security Department, said.

The legislative initiative was discussed by the city legislature on May 13. The next step is to formulate it as a bill and to submit it to the State Duma.

"We insist on criminal liability for the very action - for organizing a gambling business with the purpose of making profit," Voronenkov emphasized.

In his words, this will help to change the situation, as most gambling club organizers are presently only subject to administrative charges. The cost of one gambling machine is 3,000-5,000 rubles ($94.90-$158.20), while a gambling club's daily income is 30,000-100,000 rubles ($949.10-$3,163.60), he added.

The federal law on banning the gambling business came into effect on July 1, 2009. Pursuant to the law, all gambling venues were either to be closed or removed to special zones. Despite the ban, underground casinos and gambling venues are continuously being uncovered and closed. After the ban, many casinos and venues have operated under the guise of Internet clubs and lotteries.