Two men received three-year prison sentences suspended for three years after running illegal poker games in Cardiff, according to reports published by the Gambling Commission and Tarian on 5 October 2026. Tarian dates the sentencing at Cardiff Crown Court to 2 October.
Tarian, the regional organised crime unit for southern Wales, says Noor Rassam and Panayiotis Karayiannis pleaded guilty to possessing and transferring criminal property under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The reported convictions concern those offences; the authorities describe the underlying poker operation as unlicensed.
What investigators reported
The Gambling Commission places the games in an upstairs industrial-unit room in Splott between August 2022 and February 2024. Officers executed warrants in February 2024, working with Tarian, HMRC and Cardiff Council's Licensing Department. This week's reports concern the sentencing, rather than a new raid.
Police say the organisers took a commission from each poker hand, known as rake, instead of wagering directly against players. Tarian also reports that messages promoted in-person and online games. Its account does not identify the supplier of the subscription poker application used for the online games.
What to check before joining a physical game
For a gambling business that requires licensing in Great Britain, an operating licence and a premises licence answer different questions. The Gambling Commission licenses the business and its permitted activities. A local licensing authority, usually the council, issues permission for the physical premises. Wales is within this system; these checks do not describe the rules in Northern Ireland or other countries.
Ask the organiser for its legal business name and the venue address. Compare the business's operating status and licensed activities with the premises register's account name, activity, address and local authority. The premises register includes applications as well as granted licences, and the Commission warns that its data may be incomplete or inaccurate. A listing alone does not establish a grant, and a blank search alone does not establish illegality. If the records do not connect, ask the responsible local licensing authority to clarify the permission and status.
Home games and poker in eligible clubs or alcohol-licensed premises can fall under different private or exempt-gaming arrangements. Those depend on the actual access, purpose, charges, levies and other conditions. The Commission's exempt-poker guidance distinguishes pub participation fees from permitted club fees and prohibits deductions from stakes or winnings under the exemption. Calling a public game a private club does not by itself establish that it qualifies as private gaming.
BetTimes' guide to gambling licence types explains these permission categories in more detail. An online operator licence check is useful background, but it does not replace checking a physical venue. Register checks are not a guarantee of safety or an assessment of every game; this report is not legal advice on a particular event.
What happens next
Both official reports say a further Proceeds of Crime Act hearing is scheduled for 9 April 2027. They do not establish a completed confiscation order or a player refund entitlement. BetTimes has reviewed the authorities' reports and current Commission guidance, rather than a court transcript. The two reports describe the same joint investigation and share officer statements.