So how many policemen do you need to stop a semi-illegal poker tournament in Sweden? Three? Ten? No, at least 50!
These 50 policemen left the city of Uddewalla and travelled 70 kilometers (45 miles) to Grebbestad, in order to stop a live event with 682 players. It's not illegal to play poker in Sweden, but it's illegal to organize tournaments and cash games. Nobody really cares about the law, but the Swedish Gaming Board decided that enough was enough when the evening papers started to cover the events.
The policemen who were there said that they were ashamed to be forced to uphold such a law. The organizers will be prosecuted for breaking the gambling laws, despite another organizer winning such a case against the state only a month ago. That was about a much smaller event, though. The tournament in Grebbestad was cancelled, and the competitors are to get their entry fees back.
Police are attacking Danish and Norwegian poker clubs too. The very latest incident happened in Denmark, where the former chairperson of the Hobro Kortklub was fined €500 for holding poker tournaments with €20 buy-ins. This time, it was the Danish Casino Federation, representing the six Danish casinos, who reported the crime to the police, in total reporting 12 clubs. Hobro was the first victim, but I'm afraid there's more to come.
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