There was a massive crackdown on underground poker in Oslo Thursday evening, per a translated report from nrk.no. According to the report, around 100 police officers arrested the operators of five poker clubs in the city.
The poker game raids were unprecedented in Norway, said the report.
Police Attorney Philip Matthew Green said that authorities received tips about the underground poker rooms. The clubs allegedly had connections to other criminal activity. The government crackdown will not ensnare the poker players themselves, but rather the organizers of the games, police said.
According to authorities, the clubs hired people with criminal histories to protect the games.
Apparently, the five clubs that were shut down Thursday might just be the first of subsequent raids on the Oslo poker scene. Several years ago, Norway loosened its laws against poker, but the new rules made it clear that a legal poker game couldn’t take a rake from the players.
