Viktor Blom Facing Serious Problems

It was not really a surprise that Viktor Blom stepped out of the darkness as the man behind Isildur1 at the PCA. Many think that the reason for him to hide his identity for so long was to evade Swedish taxes. Now it seems this really was the case: the Swedish tax office wants $149 million in Swedish krona.

Viktor Blom

Leading Swedish business paper, the Dagens Industri reported some time ago that the Swedish tax office is on to collect taxes from poker players playing at non-EU poker rooms. According to Swedish law, money made in the only Swedish-owned room, Svenska Spelen is tax-free, playing at any other room involves tax. This is why Swedish residents playing at non-EU rooms must pay 30% tax after every pot won.

That's why Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom is in some serious jam. He moved to London recently, so his current winnings are taxed by current UK law. His winnings before his move, however, are still needed to be taxed. The Swedish government obliged Blom to pay 1 billion in Swedish Krona (about $149 million) regardless of him being one of the biggest losers recently, he's a few million dollars down in the non-EU rooms, states Dagens Industri.

"Currently we are concentrating on online poker, and yes we know the person (Viktor Blom), but I cannot talk about cases in progress" - stated Erik Bowman, representing the Swedish tax office.