Will Finland Create a State Online Poker Monopoly?
Though gambling in Finland is organized as a national monopoly, online poker has yet to be managed by government agencies; but the idea to do so is being rekindled according to comments from Veikkaus, Finland’s national betting agency for lottery and sports betting, managed by the Finnish Ministry of Education.
Finland’s Gambling market is divided between three governing bodies. In addition to Veikkaus Oy, who manages lottery and sports betting, there is RAY, the Slot Machine Association who operates and oversees casino games, slot machines and table games, as well as Fintoto Oy, who runs pari-mutuel wagering on horses and online games.
Following a report in Finnish newspaper Keski-Uusimaa that Finns spend as much as 50 million euros annually on foreign online poker sites, Veikkaus, said they felt they could keep a significant portion of that money within Finland and use it towards public projects.
“We could gather the majority of the revenue flowing out,” said Ilkka Juva, communications manager for Veikkaus. “Certainly not all of it, but two thirds of 50 million euro could be attainable.” Nearby Sweden’s state-owned monopoly Svenska Spel could be used by Veikkaus as a business model, should the proposal move forward.
The STT news agency said recommendations for the reform of gambling in the country would be made around December.
NOT THE FIRST TIME ONLINE POKER IS TARGETED
This is not the first time Finnish government officials have eyed the revenues generated by online poker.
This past January, Finland’s culture and sport minister Stefan Wallin claimed that the government should run an online poker service to bring the revenues earned by foreign operators back to Finland.
His proposal was in direct contrast to a proposal that the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health had put forth a week earlier to enable Internet gamblers to claim back their losses by being paid by either the firm providing the online poker services, a credit card company, or the winning player in the game. The move would effectively deter most foreign operators, since they would not wish to operated in a country requiring such refunds, leaving an effective Finnish state online poker monopoly.
Poker players fold ‘em
The first wave of card players charged in a recent high-stakes poker roundup pleaded guilty Monday, but another legal battle might be brewing over as much as $90,000 worth of cash and belongings seized during the investigation.
Martin Orlando Reyes, whose Hanahan home was raided by sheriff’s deputies April 4, was one of 19 people to plead guilty in Charleston County magistrate court to one misdemeanor count of unlawful gaming. In exchange, authorities agreed to dismiss additional counts against them. Magistrate David Coker ordered most to pay fines of between $154 and $257. Some 46 others still await a court date in the case.
Outspoken poker advocate Bob Chimento was the only person Monday to request a jury trial. Chimento is one of five people still awaiting trial on charges in a 2006 Mount Pleasant poker raid as well. He hopes his tribulations will generate support for changing a 200-year-old state law that bars games of cards and dice.
Reyes also supports a change, but he said he wanted to take responsibility for his actions and accept the consequences.
Still, his attorney, Mark Peper, said Reyes likely will fight a similar gambling charge pending in Hanahan in an effort to recover a host of items deputies seized from his house during the raid.
Sheriff’s deputies said Monday that about $62,000 was seized that night, about $20,000 more than had previously been reported.
Peper said about $20,000 of that money came from Reyes’ personal safe. Investigators also grabbed nearly $30,000 worth of furniture, electronics, picture frames and personal mementos Reyes had received from his wife, he said.
Peper said authorities want to keep the cash and property, arguing that those items are the fruits of an illicit enterprise. Reyes insists the seized items had nothing to do with the poker games he hosted, and he wants them back.
Peper, who represents several defendants in the case, said some of his other clients also lost big that night. Deputies seized $1,600 from the pocket of one player who is a landlord. The man had just collected the money from tenants and needed it to pay a mortgage. Another man, a store owner, lost business proceeds he was planning to deposit in a bank, he said.
Sheriff’s Maj. John Clark said authorities are still sorting through the items seized to determine their value as evidence, and he could not comment on what, if any, property and cash might be returned in the end.
Peper said Reyes and other players can contest any seizures of assets in civil court, but a guilty plea could complicate those efforts.
The issue is tied to the Hanahan charges because the money and property were seized in connection with illegal activities that were allegedly taking place at Reyes’ home that night. The Charleston County charges settled Monday dealt with other games that took place during the past 10 months at Reyes’ home and three other locations, authorities said.
The group that showed up for court Monday was a cross-section of the community: old and young, black and white, men and women. Some wore suits and ties, others T-shirts and jeans. Some accepted their fate with a somber air; others joked and exchanged handshakes as they waited for court to begin. Had there been some cards around, they could have had a small tournament.
“I’ve got three tables set up out back. Anyone for a game?” quipped player Mark Silverstein as he greeted friends and co-defendants. Then he smiled. “Just for fun, of course.”
Coker moved the proceedings along with assembly-line efficiency, with each case taking but a few minutes to settle. The guilty had all shared a card table during the past year with a confidential informant working with investigators. Those games were captured on audio and videotapes, authorities revealed.
Some players had faced as many as eight counts of illegal gambling, so the chance to plead guilty to just one was an attractive option. By limiting the damage to a single misdemeanor count, they will be able to apply to have the charge expunged from their records in three years, attorneys said.
The penalties basically worked out this way: Those who had originally faced multiple charges received a $257 fine, while those who had started out with a single charge got the lower fine of $154.
Silverstein, hit with the higher amount, said the entire affair had been blown out of proportion. But he said he saw little to be gained by fighting the charge, which would necessitate even more court appearances.
“Once was enough for me. I’ll go get it expunged,” he said. “I just don’t feel like the taxpayers’ money was spent well on all this.”
Reyes had a similar take on the episode, which he hopes will persuade lawmakers to legalize poker.
A number of others, including former 1st Circuit Deputy Solicitor Don Sorenson and Charleston police Cpl. Michael McElveen, are still awaiting their day in court. Of the 65 suspects identified in the case, deputies have arrested all but 11, Clark said.