A Danish Municipal court has ruled that poker tournaments are legal and they are not breaking any government laws. The court ruled that a poker game was not based on luck but was based on the skill of the player, so it does not break local law.
The court order acquitted the president of Danish Poker Association, Frederik Hostrup, on the charge of being the organizer of poker tournaments. Hostrup had been sued by the Danish hotel and restaurants association on behalf of the casinos. This decision spurred an earlier order of the justice ministry of 2006, which had declared poker illegal. According to Hostrups lawyer, Henrik Hoffmann, poker was now a peoples game and around 2-3 million Danes were playing the game weekly.
As per Danish law, illegal gambling is constituted when, the person who organizes it is trying to achieve some commercial gain. According to Hoffman, poker was a game where one had to play smart, bet smart and let other players think that you are losing.
A spokesman for Horesta expressed both shock and surprise at the decision and stated, that poker was an addiction. Prosecutors in Denmark have been given 14 days to appeal against the court ruling.
