Cardiff poker ring operators given suspended sentences after Tarian probe

Two men who operated an unlicensed poker venue out of an industrial unit in Splott, Cardiff, have been handed suspended prison sentences, iGaming Business reported, citing an earlier BBC account of the case.

The operation was investigated by Tarian, the regional organised crime unit for southern Wales, working alongside the Gambling Commission, HM Revenue & Customs and Cardiff Council's licensing team.

Between August 2022 and February 2024, the unit was fitted out as a commercial-style card room, with six poker tables, a spinning prize wheel, seating areas, stocked fridges, CCTV and a cashier's window shielded by Perspex. Investigators also found an office containing poker chips, tokens and transaction records. Access to the premises was reportedly through a fire exit.

Tarian said the games were promoted both in person and online. Mobile phone data uncovered WhatsApp marketing for a subscription-based online poker service trading as "Fish Tank Online". The in-person sessions were initially branded "Ding Ding Poker" before being rebranded as "Fish Tank Poker Cardiff".

Financial checks found roughly £260,000 had been deposited into an account linked to Noor Rassam and about £124,000 into one linked to his co-defendant, Panayiotis Karayiannis. Investigators said the pair had taken a commission, known in the trade as the rake, from each hand rather than betting against players themselves.

Warrants executed in February 2024 at the industrial unit and at addresses connected to the two men led to arrests and the seizure of cash, documents and digital devices. Rassam and Karayiannis pleaded guilty on the first day of their trial to possessing and transferring criminal property under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Cardiff Crown Court sentenced both men on 2 October to three years' imprisonment, suspended for three years. A further hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act, to consider confiscation and forfeiture, is scheduled for 9 April 2027.

Detective Constable Charles Lan of Tarian ROCU said the defendants had run the business for personal financial gain, generating profits that were never declared for tax and that "ultimately came at the expense of the wider public". He said the investigation had found evidence that the games were promoted to people involved in serious crime, with organisers reportedly boasting about drug dealers and organised crime group members attending.

"The harm caused by this operation should not be underestimated. Individuals lost significant sums of money through these games, with some becoming indebted to the organisers," Lan said. He added that, unlike licensed operators, the venue had no safeguards to identify or support vulnerable customers or those experiencing gambling addiction.

Sue Young, executive director of operations at the Gambling Commission, said the case underlined the regulator's approach to unlicensed gambling. "The message is clear – if you run an illegal casino, there will be a tip off, you will be caught and there will be significant consequences," she said.

The Cardiff case follows a run of similar enforcement action across the UK this year. Coordinated raids in Sheffield and Doncaster recovered more than £110,000 in cash alongside a significant quantity of gold, while further raids were carried out in Manchester and Bristol over the summer.

At the Bingo Association's annual general meeting in May, the Commission's acting chief executive, Sarah Gardner, said enforcement against illegal land-based gambling would intensify, pointing to £26 million in new government funding allocated to the regulator over the next three years to support that work.