Illegal for Residents of Denmark to be Professional Poker Players

11/09/2009 7:09
Type Online Report
Theme poker

It is estimated that 50,000 Danes play online poker.

While just playing poker online from Denmark is not a crime, it is illegal to do so on a professional basis.

The Danish Supreme Court has recently ordered an unemployed man to surrender over 194,000 kroner, which he won playing online poker, to the state.

The court concluded that because the man had earned the money over the course of a year, and because it was his sole form of income, he had violated laws banning earning a living from gambling.

Crown Prosecutor Svend Larsen said, "We will decide on a case by case basis whether someone is playing professionally."

Further, the court claimed jurisdiction to hear the case because, though computer servers used to run the poker games are placed outside of Denmark, the individual computer used to play is located in the country and subject to Danish law.

The state attorneys emphasized that the decision does not outlaw online gaming.

This decision is certainly a bum trip for this unfortunate poker player, and anyone else who seeks to make their living through advantage play in any form.

Of course to us it sounds like the same-old, same-old. That being an insatiable, all-consuming government trying to get its hands on the money (damn that it was not obtained via force nor fraud) of anyone and anything within reach of its tentacles.

"Q"
Wheretobet.com

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