Eternal Poker Struggle: Skill or Luck?

There is an eternal struggle between opposing forces. The most common that comes to mind is good versus evil. No one can ever assume either is going to win, nonetheless become stronger than the other. Another socially popular struggle on the front of online casinos that seems will never rest, is the discussion of poker. Is the game luck or skill?

The Copenhagen Post is reporting that a Danish municipal court in the district of Lyngby has ruled that poker, whether in a standard casino or an online casino, is not solely a game of chance, but requires skill to be successful. With this ruling it is decided that online poker and standard poker do not contravene Danish gaming laws. This supports the idea that online casinos are running sports games, not merely some online gambling games.

Frederik Hostrup, the president of the Danish Poker Association, was acquitted of all charges of having arranged illegal online casino gambling events, due to the new decision of the municipal court. The land casinos that were being represented by hotel and restaurant trade organization Horesta, where suing Hostrup because of his participation in the poker events.

This decision can be seen as a legalization of poker in the nation. "Poker has become a sport of the people," Hostrup’s attorney, Henrik Hoffmann, told Politiken 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 now play regularly." These numbers show the gain in popularity of poker, most likely due to the fact that the online casinos are making it available where it has not been offered before.

Horesta's spokesperson, Erik Jensen, suggests that this will increase the number of gambling addicts that the nation has. "Anytime you play for money, the risk for becoming a gambling addict increases," he said. He feels that with the approximated 85,000 number of Danes who have a gambling addiction, this decision could hinder more than help them. This decision could be economically a good decision, but it might not socially be a good decision. With the number of user of online casinos growing it could only a matter of time before the issue of these two opposing forces is brought up again.