Dasnish court deems poker legal

The Copenhagen Post reports that a Danish municipal court has ruled that poker tournaments do not contravene Danish gaming laws.

Poker is not merely a game of chance but also requires skill and is therefore legitimate competition, a municipal court in the district of Lyngby ruled Friday.

The ruling acquitted the president of the Danish Poker Association, Frederik Hostrup, of charges of arranging illegal gambling events. Hostrup had been sued by hotel and restaurant trade organisation Horesta on behalf of the nation's [land] casinos.

The ruling goes against a decision by the Justice Ministry's legal affairs committee in 2006, which concluded that poker constituted illegal gambling.

Hostrup's attorney, Henrik Hoffmann, told Politiken newspaper that Friday's ruling legitimises poker, which has become immensely popular in Denmark over the past couple years.

"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 now play regularly."

Illegal gambling is, according to Danish criminal law, games or competitions where the organiser "attempts to achieve a commercial economic gain". Hoffmann said poker is more about betting wisely, playing smart and getting the other players to think you have different cards than those you actually have in your hands.

"You can win in poker based on being clever enough to hide your strategy, even though you might have a fairly poor hand," he said.

Horesta spokesperson Erik Jensen was disappointed and surprised by the ruling. "Anytime you play for money, the risk for becoming a gambling addict increases," he said. "[Unspecified] Research has shown that there are some 85 000 Danes who are potential addicts, which is why these precautionary measures are so important."

Prosecutors now have 14 days to decide whether to appeal the ruling.