Casinos.co.uk: Casino News Archive
Monday 23rd July 2007
Legal Ruling Sees Justice for Danish Poker Association
As previously reported by Bluff Europe, Frederik Hostrup, the president of the Danish Poker Association, was arrested for organising a poker tournament which was subsequently cancelled. However he has since been acquitted.
Tournaments take gambling – and money – out of casinos, who then used the hotel and restaurant trade organisation, Horesta, as a vehicle to take legal action against Hostrup. In his defence, Hostrup argued that poker is not gambling, and the judge sided with him, as, while luck is involved, skill and strategy are determinants of the game.
Speaking from the municipal court in the suburb of Lyngby, the Judge said. 'You can win in poker based on being clever enough to hide your strategy, even though you might have a fairly poor hand.'
This may not convince the US legislature, but since Russia also announced poker as a sport in April, it may sway UK think tanks currently debating the skill/luck issue.
Hostrup’s attorney said. 'Poker has become a sport of the people,' he said. 'There are between 200,000 and 300,000 Danes who play poker at least once a week and more than half a million who play on a regular basis.'
However, Horesta spokesperson Erik Jensen was disappointed and sounding more like an anti-gambling pressure group than a representative of casino interests, he said.
'Any time you play for money, the risk of becoming a gambling addict increases.'
Over the next fourteen days, prosecutors will decide whether or not to take the case to appeal.
Source:OnlineCasinoNews
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