Bots are everywhere.
They took money out of the population 15 years ago. How advanced do you think they are today?
Earned 3.8 million through poker robot – goes free:
"Five people walk free after building a poker robot that recorded around SEK 3.8 million. The persons were charged with fraud and convicted in District Court – to be freed in court. A statement that now stands, after the Prosecutor General has chosen not to pursue the matter further.
In total, the persons, consisting of five young men, including a resident of Uppsala County, will have built a poker robot. A program designed to play poker entirely on its own – without human intervention.
8.2 million rounds of play
15 different accounts were set up and 8.2 million game rounds of the poker type Texas hold'em were played. Partly by the people themselves, but also through the poker robot. In total, the robot has raised a net sum of SEK 3.8 million during the year that the five individuals used the robot. Primarily, the robot played at lower deposit levels on both Swedish and foreign poker sites. The robot began construction in 2007.
25,000 opponents
It is estimated that 45,000 opponents have met the robot, 25,000 of them lost money. The case was raised in Södertörn District Court, where the five were convicted of aggravated fraud and aiding and abetting fraud in 2012. A judgment that was later appealed to the Court of Appeal – where the five were acquitted.
The district court judged that the 25,000 opponents the robot had not met knew that they met a robot, which had been misleading, and sentenced the five to a fine and conditional sentence. The money earned would also be forfeited.
Acquitted in Court of Appeal
But the Court of Appeal made a different assessment, because they meant that the opponents' chance of winning was not less just because they met a robot. However, the Court of Appeal also argued that the proceedings had been misleading, but not so much so that there was no basis for the five for fraud.
The defendants, and now acquitted, the men claimed during the two trials that it was not proven that the opponents disapproved they played against a robot. Although they may not know they met a robot. This is because the group made recordings of rounds, where they themselves informed opponents that a robot played, which according to them resulted in the opponents actually sitting further at the tables – than if they thought they played against a human being. However, the district court considers that this cannot be taken into account.
Wanted to drive to HD
After the acquittal of the Court of Appeal, the prosecutor chose to appeal the verdict, and wanted to pursue the case on to the Supreme Court for a conclusion.
The case was then handed over to the Prosecutor's Development Centre in Stockholm for preparation, which in turn has concluded to the decision not to send the case to the Supreme Court. Development centres write in the decision:
“The goal is relatively extensive. In order to allow the case to be taken up in the Supreme Court, the case must therefore be delimited appropriately. Even on the basis of the Court of Appeal’s assessment, I believe that there are several uncertainties that mean that the possible legal issue risks not being assessed.”
The Development Centre, in turn, chose to pass the matter on to the Prosecutor General, but underlined the hesitation to send the case to HD.
Prosecutor closes down
The Attorney General writes in his decision:
“The objective, which is extensive and partly marked by the evaluation of the evidence in the case, is not suitable for review in the Supreme Court.”
The five men go free."
Fem personer går fria efter att ha byggt en pokberrobot som spelat in omkring 3,8 miljoner kronor. Personerna åtalades för bedrägeri och dömdes i tingsrätt – för att sen frias i hovrätt. Ett friande som nu står sig, efter att Riksåklagaren valt att inte driva ärendet vidare.
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