Tim Alper iGaming Journalist
Tim Alper is a journalist covering betting news and regulation for CasinoBeats, with a focus on regulatory developments and international markets. He reports on breaking stories across Europe and Asia, including gambling law changes and...
Read Full BioA court in Russia has decided against jailing the three masterminds of a notorious illegal poker club in the city of Smolensk.
A district court in the city instead handed them suspended jail terms of between 20 and 22 months, the Russian media outlet Rabochy Put reported.
The trio, all unnamed for legal reasons, must serve 2 years of probation and each pay a fine of 100,000 rubles ($1,270).
Prosecutors told the court the operators began running the club in January 2023, allowing patrons to meet and place bets until a joint Investigative Committee, Russian National Guard, Federal Security Service, and Ministry of Internal Affairs raid in September 2024.
Officers raided multiple addresses, where they found patrons gambling at a table and arrested a man attempting to flee the scene nearby.
Illegal Poker Club: Masterminds Avoid Jail
The court heard the club operated in facilities belonging to a cafe and a hotel complex in Smolensk’s Industrial District.
“The operators ensured high levels of secrecy at the club,” Natalya Zueva, a spokesperson for the Investigative Committee’s Smolensk branch, said. “They also made key decisions on the dates, times, and formats of future tournaments. During our raids, we seized various items of gambling equipment, cash, and documents.”
Russian Gambling Dens: Police Cracking Down
Illegal gambling is on the rise in Smolensk, a city 360 km to the west of Moscow. Last year, police arrested two women and a man for running a betting club that organized card-based gambling games.
The venue, also located in the Industrial District, additionally aired overseas poker games.
Police said the venue was operational between November 2023 and May 2024. It was housed in a unit in one of the district’s shopping centers. The shop’s patrons included local business leaders and media personalities, the same media outlet wrote in a separate report.
The 47-year-old female ringleader struck a pre-trial agreement with prosecutors. The court sentenced her to two years in prison. The presiding judge also suspended this sentence for two years. The same judge also ordered her to pay a fine worth over $2,500.
Last month, the Traktorozavodsky District Court in Volgograd sent eight people found guilty of running a network of illegal casinos to jail for between three and 18 years.
