button in SafariThree-Year Suspended Prison Sentences Handed Out After UK Cops Bust Illegal Game
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Running an illegal poker room from a Cardiff, Wales industrial estate has landed two men three-year suspended prison sentences.
Noor Rassam, 29, and Panayiotis Karayiannis, 30, were behind an unlicensed operation that ran live and online poker games in the Welsh capital city between August 2022 and February 2024.
This was no small home game as the police who raided the premises found six poker tables, a prize wheel, a cashier's window and records showing money paid and owed. Fridges stocked with drinks and snacks were also inside, while CCTV was used to monitor access to the building.
The pair appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on October 2 after pleading guilty to possessing and transferring criminal property under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Both were sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for three years.
A suspended sentence means the prison term is held back for a set period, in this case three years. If either man commits another offence during that time, they could find themselves back before the courts and ordered to serve some or all of the original sentence.
Lead image credit: Tarian ROCU
Hundreds of Thousands Linked to Poker Games
The setup operated from an industrial unit in Splott, Cardiff, with players able to get involved both in person and online.
According to the BBC and WalesOnline, the live games were first advertised as Ding Ding Poker before later becoming Fish Tank Poker Cardiff. Online games were hosted through a subscription-based poker app using the name Fish Tank Online.
Rassam and Karayiannis took a cut from the games in the form of rake, just as you would find in a regular poker room. But operating without a license in the UK makes taking a rake illegal.
Financial enquiries found around £260,000 (≈$345,020) in third-party payments going to Rassam between August 2022 and February 2024. Karayiannis received approximately £124,000 (≈$164,548) over the same period, with numerous transactions containing references to poker.
Police said the money helped fund foreign holidays and other high-value spending.
Inside the Cardiff Poker Den
The operation unravelled after information was passed to the Gambling Commission, which then alerted Tarian, the Regional Organized Crime Unit (ROCU) for South Wales.
A warrant was executed at the industrial unit in February 2024, with police joined by the Gambling Commission, HM Revenue and Customs and Cardiff Council.
Records at the "gambling den" detailed money that had been paid and was still owed, while a Perspex-protected cashier's window had a small opening through which transactions could be made. Entry to the building was also through a fire exit and monitored by CCTV controlled by Rassam and Karayiannis.
Further searches at properties linked to the pair resulted in cash, documents, digital devices and other high-value items being seized.
Tarian ROCU also said the games had been promoted to people involved in serious crime, including drug dealers and organized crime groups.
Detective Constable Charles Lan said the operation generated "substantial profits" that were never declared for tax purposes.
"Their criminal enterprise provided them with significant personal benefits, funding a lavish lifestyle that included foreign holidays and other high-value spending," said Lan.
He added that some players lost significant amounts of money and became indebted to the organizers. Unlike a licensed gambling business, the room had no safeguards in place for problem gambling or vulnerable customers.
Rassam and Karayiannis initially denied wrongdoing, but changed their pleas on the first day of their trial. Both admitted possessing and transferring criminal property contrary to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Legal Trouble Not Over
The suspended sentences don't quite bring the matter to an end, either. A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing is scheduled for April 2027, when attention will turn to the money and assets connected to the case.
Sue Young, Executive Director of Operations at the Gambling Commission, said the case sent a clear warning to those running illegal gambling operations in Great Britain.
"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," said Young.
