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The IRS won’t be after online poker phenom Viktor Blom, who was last week revealed to be Isildur1. He’s Swedish.
Unfortunately that could be a whole lot worse.
According to the newly released report, there is a very real possibility that Blom can expect a visit, and soon, from the Skatteverket, the Swedish version of the Internal Revenue Service.
And just how much is Blom said to owe?
Brace yourselves.
A staggering $150 million!
From Aintluck.com:
In the country, professional poker players remain exempt from taxes unless the games in which they take part in reside outside of the European Union. In those cases, players are subject to a 30% tax on all winnings. By this assumption, it does not seem clear exactly how anyone could arrive at the $150 million quoted in the article. According to published online statistics, Blom was involved in about $4.5 billion worth of pots, and anyone who followed those games knows very well that he did not win most of the time. Back in November 2009, Blom, who was unknown at the time, turned $2000 into over $2 million in a 2 week span and quickly blew it all, wit interest. In order to be on the hook for all those millions, Blom would have had to have won over $450 million, a figure that wouldn’t be reached if you added up the winnings of the top 100 money earners in the past 12 mounts.
Perhaps it would have been in Blom’s best interest to remain concealed as Isildur1.
Dag Hardyson, a spokesperson from the Swedish Tax Authority. He said:
“Internet poker is something we’re looking into and I know this poker player [Isildur1], but I can’t comment on whether we’ve opened a case.”
- Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
