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- Sweden in world spotlight following US President Donald Trump’s weekend comments
- Swedish poker pros have been held at gunpoint
- Swedes accused in poker bot ring
- PokerListings founder’s murder in Sweden still unsolved
In light of what US President Donald Trump said during a Florida rally over the weekend, everybody is talking about Sweden….yes, Sweden.
While discussing issues with refugees in other nations, Trump made reference to Sweden and seemed to imply that a specific incident had occurred in that Scandinavian nation that has embraced refugees over the years.
“You look at what’s happening,” Trump said. “We’ve got to keep our country safe. You look at what’s happening in Germany, you look at what’s happening last night in Sweden,” the president said. “They took in large numbers, they’re having problems like they never thought possible,” he said.
The US President would later say he was referencing a story that appeared on Fox News the night before.
Since that comment was made, news outlets have attempted to paint Sweden as a nation void of crime.
But don’t tell that to poker players!
While there are no implications that the refugee population has had any involvement in said crimes, Gambling911.com has highlighted incidents over the years.
Let’s take a look.
Swedish Poker Pros Held at Gunpoint in Casino Cosmopol: Others Extorted, Murdered
A 23-year-old poker player was taken into custody after allegedly holding up another player at the Casino Cosmopol in Gothenburg in 2012. He was facing charges of robbery and several cases of extortion. The victim was forced to surrender 224,000 crowns.
As for the extortion, Gambling911.com previously reported on how one gambler with ties to a Swedish motorcycle gang, the Bandidos, allegedly tried hacking into other poker players accounts.
Seven Swedes were later prosecuted for allegedly using poker bots to cheat at games.
The Swedish Government, for its part, has acknowledged that cybercrimes are becoming a major issue in the country.
More Poker Players in Sweden Become Targets of Violence
Four armed bandits held up 15 players at a private game in Strömstad in 2014. The victims in this case happened to all be Norwegian.
Unsolved Mysteries of Gambling Part 4: Who Killed PokerListings Boss Andreas Oscarsson?
It was one of the most shocking crimes in the world of gambling industry media. PokerListings.com founder Andreas Oscarsson was murdered in his home in Sweden. It is still unsolved.
To be fair, figures from the Swedish Crime Survey (SCS) show that exposure to crime has decreased since 2005.
The number of cases of lethal violence in Sweden has remained at a relatively constant level over the last 30 years — around 100 cases per year.
There were 97 robberies recorded by police per 100,000 population in 2012, which was 5 per cent less than the previous year.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
