BY TOM SOMACH

It’s not just in the U.S. that law enforcement likes to break up poker games that are not occurring in casinos.

The phenomenon is happening north of the border too.

According to the Toronto Star, a Canadian newspaper, Canadian police have charged seven people with running illegal poker dens.

The charges came after a series of raids in Mississauga, Ontario, near Toronto, where about 80 people were detained, as members of the Ontario Provincial Police’s Illegal Gambling Unit, in co-operation with the Peel Regional Police, executed search warrants on four Mississauga businesses in recent days, the newspaper reported.

According to a police spokesman, four “gambling houses” were inviting the public to attend to play Texas hold ‘em and other games of poker, with people charging fees for the activity, the Star reported.

Police decided not to charge the customers, but did charge seven people running the gambling operations, the Star reported.

Police told the newspaper that millions of dollars are made from illegal poker operations like those that were busted and that often the proceeds can wind up with organized crime.

Toronto’s best-known poker player, pro Daniel Negreanu, moved to Las Vegas several years ago so he could play poker daily legally.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)