Cardiff: Two Men Get Suspended Sentences Over Money From Illegal Poker Den

Two men who ran illegal poker nights from an upstairs room on a Cardiff industrial estate have been given suspended prison sentences.

Noor Rassam, 29, of Pentwyn, and Panayiotis Karayiannis, 30, of Pontprennau, each received three years in prison, suspended for three years, at Cardiff Crown Court on October 2, 2026, according to Tarian, the regional organized crime unit for southern Wales. Tarian and the Gambling Commission published details of the sentences on October 5.

A suspended sentence means they do not immediately serve the prison term. Committing another offence or breaching the order’s requirements can lead to the sentence being activated, according to the Sentencing Council.

Both men changed their pleas to guilty on the first day of trial, admitting possessing and transferring criminal property under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the law covering money obtained through crime.

Six tables, a prize wheel and a cashier’s window

From August 2022 to February 2024, the games ran in an upstairs room of a unit on an industrial estate in Splott, according to the Gambling Commission. The room had six poker tables, a spinning prize wheel, seating areas and fridges stocked with drinks and snacks.

Players entered through a fire exit, watched by CCTV cameras the two men controlled. An office held poker chips, tokens and records of money paid and owed, plus a cashier’s window behind Perspex for handling cash, Tarian said.

How the operation came apart

Intelligence reached the Gambling Commission, which passed it to Tarian. In February 2024, Tarian officers, working with the Commission, HMRC and Cardiff Council’s licensing department, executed warrants at the unit and at homes and business addresses linked to the men.

Both men were arrested; officers seized cash, documents, devices and high-value items.

WhatsApp messages found on their phones promoted both in-person and online play. The in-person nights began as “Ding Ding Poker” and were later rebranded “Fish Tank Poker Cardiff.” Online games ran on a subscription-based poker app under the name “Fish Tank Online,” Tarian said.

Where the money came from

Officers said the pair took a cut of every hand, a commission known in poker as “the rake,” rather than playing against their customers.

Investigators found that Rassam received about £260,000 in third-party payments while the venue was operating, and Karayiannis about £124,000. Many transactions in both men’s accounts referenced “poker.” The police release describes these figures as third-party payments received, rather than specifying the operation’s net profit.

What police say the games cost

Detective Constable Charles Lan of Tarian said the business generated “substantial profits which were never declared for tax purposes” and funded “a lavish lifestyle that included foreign holidays and other high-value spending.”

He said the men marketed their games to people involved in serious criminality and “even boasted about the presence of drug dealers and organised crime group members at their events.”

Lan also said some players lost significant sums and ended up owing money to the organizers, with no safeguards to identify or support vulnerable people.

“The message is clear – if you run an illegal casino, there will be a tip off, you will be caught, and there will be significant consequences,” said Sue Young, the Gambling Commission’s executive director of operations.

One more hearing to come

A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing has been set for April 9, 2027, the Gambling Commission said.

Confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act can require defendants to pay an amount reflecting their benefit from criminal conduct, taking account of their available assets. The releases did not specify an amount being sought.

Featured image: Stacks of poker chips behind a dealer button. Illustrative image; not from the Cardiff venue. Photo: Jerom Gerard / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)