SWEDISH GAMBLING MONOPOLY CALLS FOR TOUGHER APPROACH TO PRIVATE POKER CLUBS

7 September 2007

Police urged to get tough on poker operations


Swedish media reports this week indicate that government bodies remain determined to maintain the monopoly on gambling enjoyed by the state, currently calling for tougher action against private poker clubs.

The Swedish gaming board Lotteriinspektionen has issued a report in which it claims that "....illegal poker playing in the country is getting out of hand." The board has consequently called on the police to adopt a tougher and more active approach to what it terms "underground poker clubs."

The government owned gambling organisation Svenska Spel has a monopoly in Sweden when it comes to providing poker games, both live and online, but poker clubs continue to openly advertise services on the internet.

According to the Lotteriinspektionen report, there are approximately a hundred poker clubs operating in Sweden.

"In almost every Swedish town there are one or more poker clubs where illegal poker tournaments for money are held several times a week," Lotterinspektionen claims, urging the police authorities to take action.

"It is extraordinary that criminal activities are allowed to go on openly and unprohibited," the report concludes.

The move is the latest in a series of recent developments targeted on Internet gambling companies and other organisations. The government recently requested detailed information on all the employees of 24h Poker (see previous InfoPowa report) as a first step to ensure gaming related companies in the country are abiding by the law.

24h Poker was asked to provide information to the Swedish Gaming Board immediately regarding job descriptions, uses of the company trademark and other information. According to the chief legal advisor at the Swedish Gaming Board, Hakan Hallstedt, more companies will soon be asked to provide the same information.

"Many gaming companies are listed in Sweden and have their employees here. None of them are permitted to work with gaming related tasks in Sweden, as this is illegal, yet most of their revenue comes from gaming," Hallstedt said.

And in August this year The Local reported that poker sites and poker affiliates sites are going to be targeted by the government tax collector Skatteverket for possible tax evasion in Sweden.

Dag Hardyson, national project leader for the tax board's Internet unit, said they aren't after individual poker players, but the companies that provide the service and also affiliate sites that make money from guiding people to online poker sites.

The Local said the tax board's calculations showed that hundreds of Swedes have set up poker-related sites on the Internet that attract players and send them on to sites to play poker at. The sites get paid for their referrals to the poker sites..

"For some the income can be several million kronor," Hardyson said.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa