Inside Cardiff's Illegal Poker Operation

Six poker tables, a cashier's window protected by Perspex and a fire exit monitored by CCTV. For around 18 months, an upstairs industrial unit in Splott, Cardiff, operated as an unlicensed poker room.

Police found a spinning prize wheel, fridges stocked with drinks and records of money paid and owed. The venue was known as Fish Tank Poker Cardiff, having previously operated under the name Ding Ding Poker.

The business had been running since August 2022. By the time police raided the premises in February 2024, its two organisers had received approximately £384,000 in third-party payments.

On 28 February 2024, officers executed six warrants across Cardiff, including at the poker room and addresses linked to its organisers. Tarian, the regional organised crime unit for southern Wales, led the investigation after intelligence was passed on by the Gambling Commission.

The raids formed part of Operation Henhouse, a wider campaign against fraud and economic crime. Officers seized gambling equipment, cash, documents and digital devices. 1

Following the money

Bank records showed that Noor Rassam, 29, had received approximately £260,000 in third-party payments while the venue was operating. Panayiotis Karayiannis, 30, received around £124,000. Numerous transactions referenced poker. 2

The £384,000 represents payments into the accounts, not the organisers' net profit or total gambling turnover.

Investigators established that the pair collected rake from poker hands. Neither the rake percentage nor the total amount collected has been disclosed. Detective Constable Charles Lan said the operation generated substantial undeclared profits, which helped fund foreign holidays and other expensive spending.

Some players also owed money to the organisers. Police recovered records of outstanding payments, although the amounts and circumstances of those debts have not been made public.

Investigators found messages promoting games to people involved in serious criminality, including references to drug dealers and organised crime group members attending events. Lan said some customers suffered significant financial losses.

Poker outside the law

Private poker is permitted in Great Britain, but Schedule 15 of the Gambling Act 2005 prohibits charges for participation, including deductions from stakes or winnings.

Pubs and qualifying members' clubs have separate exemptions, subject to restrictions on stakes, prizes and charges.

According to the Gambling Commission, Fish Tank Poker was operating without the required licence.

Fish Tank Online

The organisers also promoted online poker games through WhatsApp.

Messages recovered from their phones showed that games were hosted through a subscription-based poker application under the account name Fish Tank Online. Tarian has not identified the application or detailed how payments for the online games were handled.

Convictions and confiscation

Rassam and Karayiannis were arrested following the February 2024 raids. Both changed their pleas to guilty on the first day of trial.

They admitted possessing and transferring criminal property under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, rather than offences under the Gambling Act.

At Cardiff Crown Court on 2 October 2026, each received a three-year prison sentence suspended for three years. Confiscation proceedings are scheduled for 9 April 2027. 2