Swedish Tax Authorities Ransack Poker Forums to Identify Winning Players, Norwegian Star Johnny Lodden Lost House Over Tax Debt

Hard times for poker pros in Scandinavia as a wide-ranging investigation in Sweden discloses findings of unpaid taxes, while Johnny Lodden wages his legal battle with tax authorities in Norway, reportedly losing his house in the process.

Skatteverket - the Swedish 'IRS' - announced that they are going after an estimated 100 million Kronor in unpaid taxes on poker winnings. The authorities have so far managed to track down about 50 Swedes by their nicknames on poker sites registered in various tax havens (EU poker players are exempt from taxes on their winnings if they play at sites holding a EU license).

Now Swedish tax authorities are investigating an estimated 300 online poker pros whose declared income differs from established winnings going as far back as 2008. In addition to information requested from the operators and tax haven authorities, the several year long investigation has a special Internet team ransacking poker sites and forums with the aim to track specific nicknames and identify the players. The findings suggest approximately SEK 250 million in winnings since 2012 and due taxes and fines amounting to 100 million kronor (about €11 million).

Meanwhile in neighboring Norway the country's biggest poker star of many years, Johnny Lodden, is engaged in a legal battle with the state. The 29-year-old father of two was reportedly forced to sell his house in order to pay 3.5 million Norwegian Kronor (more than Euro 400,000) in fines and taxes on poker winnings from 2005-2007 (a period when he claims he actually lost money).

Lodden is now  suing the state back for the same amount.  Understandably, the outcome is eagerly awaited by hundreds of Norwegian poker pros in a similar situation.

Lodden: "We have everything against us."

"We play online and we do also get to play live poker in illegal clubs. Nowadays it is really hard with the legislation and the mafia coming in and taking over some of the clubs in Norway." PokerListings interview, 2013

Both Sweden and Norway have representatives at the biggest final table in poker - the WSOP Main Event November Niners @Felix Vincent Stephensen and @Martin Jacobson. The local poker communities have an additional reason to root for their countrymen. It is their hope that they will help put poker into a more positive spotlight and possibly facilitate more favorable regulation, particularly in Norway, where poker is barely on the verge of legality.

Lodden in his latest blog of Sep. 4:

It’s great for Norway, of course, for Felix to have made the November Nine and all of the attention that will get.

We’re trying to get poker legalized here — small games are permitted, but poker still isn’t fully legal. A lot of times the papers don’t even really want to report on poker too much because of the way the game is viewed by the government as gambling. But there are so many players from Norway now, and it’s getting harder to ignore poker’s popularity.

There should be a lot of media attention for Felix, although I hope it’s positive and focuses on how skillful a player he is. There have only been a few small articles about him so far, but perhaps when we get closer to November there will be more focus on him and the final table.

Johnny Lodden: Looking Forward to the November Nine

PokerListings: Lodden: Norwegian Taxes, Mafia Bad for Poker

Swedish and Norwegian media:

Johnny Lodden saksøker staten, Skatteverket tog hans hus,Huset røyk i skattepoker

Pokervinster för 250 miljoner ska skattas, Skatteverket jagar nätpokerspelar