The image of the ‘dark, grim tables full of criminals with cigars’ is wrong, according to Dennis*. He is a croupier at illegal gambling matches. He does see that risks are being taken with enormous amounts in the circuit.
According to the police, not only are huge amounts of money involved in the illegal gambling circuit, but it can also be life-threatening for poker enthusiasts who want to try their luck there. In HOW..? tells a detective about these illegal gambling tournaments.
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But croupier Dennis sees, in addition to risks, a completely different world in illegal poker matches. The home games, as the gambling games outside the casino are called, differ greatly in atmosphere, according to him. “I never feel unsafe in the places I go. They are neat locations and it feels like I’m running a game between friends.”
According to him, this differs from the image that many people have of ‘criminals sitting at dim tables playing poker with a cigar in their hand’. “But I do know that these places are there.” The type of people who come to illegal gambling also varies widely, according to the croupier.
“I wouldn’t call the places I go illegal.”
“You have people with their own businesses who work all day and see gambling as an outing, younger people who are more interested in the study behind poker to earn some pocket money and people who just want to take a gamble. I don’t call places I go illegal.”
However, these gambling games are illegal under the law. This is due to the game offer and the game rules that differ from those of casinos. “You can bet much higher than in the casino and therefore win much larger amounts. On a busy day, these amounts sometimes rise to seventy thousand euros. This makes illegal gambling much more attractive for people who want to take more risk.”
“Whoever wants can gamble illegally at any time seven days a week.”
According to Dennis, illegal gambling takes place on a large scale. “Whoever wants can gamble illegally seven days a week, at almost any time you want.” The gamblers don’t have to look far outside the door for that. “There are events within a radius of 25 kilometers, also in Brabant.”
*Dennis is a fictitious name. The real name of the croupier is known to the editors.
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