• Investigators from the judicial police recently put a stop to the activities of two clandestine gambling halls, in Seine-Saint-Denis and Hauts-de-Seine.
  • In all, eight people were arrested and charged.
  • Particularity of these two cases without apparent link: two teenagers were involved, one as a victim, the other as a suspect.

One, addicted to poker, was sequestered by his creditors. The other organized clandestine parties with his father, a man already well known to the police. Investigators from the judicial police recently dismantled two illegal gambling halls, one in Hauts-de-Seine, the other in Seine-Saint-Denis. Peculiarity of his two unrelated cases: two teenagers were involved, one as a victim, the other as a suspect. "It is not often that we find minors in our files," Commissioner Stéphane Piallat, head of the Central Service of Races and Games, told 20 Minutes.

The first case starts in March 2022. Police officers at the Issy-les-Moulineaux police station learn that a young man has been kidnapped because of a large gambling debt. The officials discover on this occasion that he used to play in a tripot, installed in a discreet apartment in this city of Hauts-de-Seine. The Central Service of Races and Games then takes over the investigations. "You have to prove that it is a tripot because it is not forbidden to play poker, and the presence of money is not enough," explains Commissioner Piallat. What is, is that it is open to the public, that there is the expectation of a win and that people pay to play. »

Link to banditry

Investigators are able to identify the members of the team that regularly organized these parties. Experienced criminals, in their forties, already well known in police documentation, especially for acts of drug trafficking, rape, destruction of property or intentional violence. When the police raided the scene, they discovered dozens of people busy around the tables.

"There are often people in these places who also frequent legal gambling halls. They come for the atmosphere, because you can smoke, or to enjoy ancillary services, like masseuses, things like that. And we also find thugs, "continues Stéphane Piallat, stressing that there has always been a link between gambling and banditry.



On the spot, the police get their hands on cards, tokens, more than 11,000 euros in cash. Investigations revealed that the organizers pocketed about 5,000 euros per game. Four suspects have since been indicted by an investigating judge and placed under judicial control.

"A beautiful organization"

The other case takes place in Seine-Saint-Denis. The police discover, at the end of 2022, the existence of a tripot in Noisy-le-Grand thanks to information provided by another service. Again, the organizers of these illegal poker games are unfavorably known to the archives of the police and justice, including armed robbery, violence, or fraud. "There were drinks, meals, a waitress, a dealer... It was a great organization, "notes the head of the Central Service of Races and Games. One of the suspects had involved his 17-year-old son in the organization of these parties which were also held at another site, in Aubervilliers.

During the searches in early February, investigators found a balaclava and a firearm. Four suspects, who have been indicted, will be tried in the spring.

Lobster evenings

"It's not just a phenomenon in the Paris region or Paris, there are also tripots in the provinces. We have recently done business in Lyon and Lille," observes Commissioner Piallat. Most often, players hear about these places by word of mouth. But sometimes organizers promote their gaming circle on social media. The head of the Racing and Games Department remembers in particular "a tripot in the 11th arrondissement of Paris whose organizer advertised lobster evenings because he had a cook on his team!"

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