Illegal poker: 100 players caught by the police
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30 Aug 2026 •
Reading time: 2 minutes
A police operation triggered by a report of a potentially armed individual led to an unexpected discovery in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands. Officers found around a hundred people gathered for an illegal poker tournament.
A search for a weapon leads to a completely different case
Originally, the police were not attending the scene in connection with a gambling offence.
On Sunday afternoon, the police were called to a building on IJweg following a report of a person who might be carrying a firearm. Whilst searching for this person, the officers stumbled upon a gathering of a completely different nature.
Inside, an illegal poker tournament was taking place, attended by around a hundred participants.
Hoofddorp had already experienced a similar incident
In November 2020, the police had already broken up an illegal poker tournament held on Burgemeester Stamplein in Hoofddorp. That previous operation had more serious consequences.
The police had seized 34,000 euros in cash and arrested the 29-year-old organiser. The sixteen other people present were issued with fines for breaching the health measures in force at the time.
The 34,000 euros had aroused suspicion
During the raid in 2020, the large amount of cash found at the scene had also raised questions about the exact nature of the games being organised.
According to reports at the time, this sum had raised the suspicion that a poker game played for cash might also be taking place alongside the tournament.