Germany Seeks to Legally Identify Poker as a Game of Skill or Chance
26/07/08 08:28 Filed in: Poker News
Online poker still exists in a kind of legal grey area for the German population but as the government has recently been conducting work to determine how to properly classify the game there may be a final definition in the near future. As the nation continually enjoys internet poker in greater numbers there is a pressure for the government to come to a final decision which will ultimately set a precedent for the rest of Europe.
The potential legal fate of online poker rests on whether the game can be classified as one where winners succeed through skill or random luck. German law prohibits games of chance through the Lottery Treaty due to a potential danger toward citizens becoming compulsive gamblers. In light of this, the fate of online poker has been recently subjected to due consideration so that it may be finally considered illegal or eligible for state control.
Experts have decided that laws must be based on a stylistic basis, case by case, and through this criterion, Texas Hold ‘Em has already been declared a game of skill rather than chance as a 1906 Reichsgericht court decision labeled it. With this one decision there may be good news in the future as the federal government in Germany passes legal judgment on different poker styles and publishes their findings for the rest of the European Union to see.
The potential legal fate of online poker rests on whether the game can be classified as one where winners succeed through skill or random luck. German law prohibits games of chance through the Lottery Treaty due to a potential danger toward citizens becoming compulsive gamblers. In light of this, the fate of online poker has been recently subjected to due consideration so that it may be finally considered illegal or eligible for state control.
Experts have decided that laws must be based on a stylistic basis, case by case, and through this criterion, Texas Hold ‘Em has already been declared a game of skill rather than chance as a 1906 Reichsgericht court decision labeled it. With this one decision there may be good news in the future as the federal government in Germany passes legal judgment on different poker styles and publishes their findings for the rest of the European Union to see.
