Finland police shut former NHL enforcer’s gambling affiliate site

Former National Hockey League enforcer Sami Helenius’ brief foray into online gambling has been checked into the boards by police in Finland.

In late October, Helenius announced the launch of Kasino Curt, a new online gambling affiliate marketing site he claimed was focused on Swedish gamblers. Late last week, Helenius posted a notice to the site under the funereal inscription: “RIP Kasino Curt: 25.10.2017 – 8.12.2017.”

Helenius wrote that his intention was for Kasino Curt to become “the first legitimate online casino marketing site in Finland.” As Finland’s gambling market is reserved for the state-owned Veikkaus monopoly, Helenius made sure everyone understood that Kasino Curt’s plan was to produce “Swedish-language material for Swedish adults.”

However, Swedish is Finland’s second official language and Finland’s internet watchdogs don’t (yet) block Finns’ access to internationally licensed online gambling sites. As a result, Helenius was visited by members of the Finnish National Police, who’d determined that Kasino Curt was likely in violation of the nation’s gambling laws.