Police in Paris closes illegal poker club

Boom of illegal poker games in the Paris region despite the lockdown: the police discover a gambling den of 30 players and close the club.

While the gaming clubs have been closed since 6 October , and it does not seem likely that they will open anytime soon, illegal and underground games are on the rise in the Paris region.

In short, the games are considered illegal because a withdrawal is made at the source, and the commission fee taken by a cardamom operating a poker game (the rake) is paid.  In most legal jurisdictions, taking a rake from a poker table is explicitly illegal if the party taking the rake does not have the proper gaming permits.  

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The prohibition of poker games was put in place for health reasons.  And in recent days, according to a tweet from the Prefecture de Police in Paris, agents raided and dismantled an illegal gambling club in Blanc Mesnil, in the Seine-Saint Denis area. Security forces intervened on the night of 9 November in a hookah bar and discovered an underground gambling den. 

At around 2:30 a.m., the police carried out a check at the aforementioned bar in Blanc-Mesnil. The bar was still open, although it was quite late.  On the spot, police discovered about thirty people playing poker in violation of all regulations, and the health emergency that led to a very strict lockdown in the French capital.  Three people were taken into custody, including the managers of the bar, an investigation was initiated, and the bar closed.