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The Irony of Sweden's Gaming Board Calling for End to Private Poker ClubsSun, Sep 9th, 2007 @ 12:00am The world is full or ironies, and the Swedish gaming board Lotteriinspektionen contributed theirs when they issued a report claiming that "illegal poker playing in the country is getting out of hand," then demanding that the Swedish government take tougher action against 'underground poker clubs' to maintain their state-owned monopoly, called Svenska Spel. The irony is that the Swedish government themself is about to be sued in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for violating European Union law by blocking gambling services based in other European Union (EU) countries, which is against Article 49 of the EC Treaty. The ECJ suit is the next step after the European Commission, an executive arm of the EU, exhausted all steps before legal action begins, when in June they issued final warnings called 'Reasoned Opinions' to Sweden rejected their explanations for protecting their government gambling monopolies (click here for related article). MUCH ILLEGAL SWEDISH POKER According to the Lotteriinspektionen report, there are approximately a hundred poker clubs operating in Sweden. Many of them openly advertise on the Internet.
"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. This is not the first push to challenge or close down popular poker activities. In August, the Local reported that online poker sites and poker affiliates sites were going to be targeted by the Swedish government tax collector Skatteverket for possible tax evasion. And earlier, in July, the Swedish Gaming Board requested detailed information on all employees of 24h Poker in Sweden. In particular they were checking that no employee performed gaming related tasks in Sweden, as this is illegal. The Board claims this is first step to ensure gaming related companies in the country are abiding by the law. The Swedish Gaming Board also announced that it will make a thorough investigation concerning the whereabouts and licensing of gaming-related companies in the country. It is illegal in Sweden to provide gaming services without a license. To do so may result in fines and up to two years imprisonment. Read Related Articles:
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First Korean Champ of Asia Pacific Poker Tour Crowned in Cebu Another stop on the Asia Pacific Poker Tour is in the books, this time it's the APPT Cebu in the Philippines, and for the very first time a Korean player has come out on top.
Pollack Done as Commish of World Series of Poker Just three days after crowning Joe Cada as the 2009 Main Event champion, officially closing the special 40th anniversary run of the World Series of Poker, Jeffrey Pollack has resigned his post as Commissioner of the WSOP.
Durrrr Signs as Team Full Tilt's Youngest Member Tom "durrrr" Dwan is the newest member of Team Full Tilt, the online site's highest level of affiliation. At 23, Dwan is the youngest of the now 14-person team. The high stakes cash phenomenon was nominated for induction this year into the Poker Hall of Fame until the Hall of Fame Governing Council decided he was too young to meet the "has stood the test of time" qualification. |
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