A victory for online poker advocates: A federal judge has ruled that poker is more a game of skill than a game of chance. Judge Jack Weinstein of Brooklyn made the ruling in a case involving a man who had been charged with conspiring to run what an earlier conviction called an illegal underground poker club. The business involved running Texas Hold ‘em games in his warehouse where he sold bicycles as well.
The July conviction was overturned after the judge said that the man could not be prosecuted under a law which was initially created to stop organized crime rings from making millions from gambling. The earlier prosecution did not charge the man with more serious crimes such as money laundering.
The judge wrote in his ruling that because the game played on the man’s premises was predominantly a game of skill, it could not be called gambling as defined by federal law.
The judge noted, however, that the influence of organized crime rings could still be curbed by authorities since the poker games which they operate could be prosecuted under federal racketeering laws. In addition, individual states still had the right to prevent card games being run as businesses, as several of them have already. Judge Weinstein mentioned that many states were divided as to whether or not poker is a game of gambling or not.
The judge’s groundbreaking ruling was welcomed by many poker advocacy groups, including the Poker Players Alliance. The group’s executive director, John Pappas said that the thoughtful decision recognizes what the PPA has been consistently arguing for years: “Poker is not a crime, it is a game of skill.”
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