DANISH HIGHER COURT APPEAL COULD BE GOOD NEWS FOR POKER

16 May 2008

Should [land] tournament poker in private clubs be legal in Denmark or not?


A senior Danish court (Landsretten) legal decision that Danish [land] poker clubs be prohibited from running poker tournaments as a contravention of the Danish Criminal Code is to be reviewed by the country's Supreme Court following an appeal by Frederik Hostrup and the Danish Poker Federation, reports Poker News.

The eastern division of the Danish High Court ruled late December last year that tournament poker is a game of chance, overturning a previous lower district court ruling that determined it is a game of skill and therefore not subject to Denmark's gambling laws. At the time, Hostrup's attorney, Henrik Hoffman told a Danish newspaper: "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."

Hostrup apparently sought clarification on the question: Should tournament poker in private clubs be legal in Denmark or not? after the adverse Landsretten finding some 5 months ago, and is confident that the Supreme Court will take a different view to that expressed by the Landsretten. The Landsretten decision had an immediate negative impact on the burgeoning poker clubs in the country.

Poker News reports that Supreme Court acceptance of the need for a new hearing is a positive indicator that the decision of the lower court requires further consideration.

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