United Kingdom Court Decides on Skill Level of Poker

For some time there has been an ongoing debate as to whether or not poker can be considered as a game of skill or simply one of chance. This week the debate has taken what some may consider a negative turn in the UK. This because of the decision by a British appeals court, which has declared that it is a game of chance.

This decision has come forth in the context of an ongoing legal fight by the Gutshot Poker Club in the UK a private club, requesting the courts to classify poker as a game of skill. If this occurs it would no longer be necessary to license this form of gambling.

Gutshot.com, the well known online poker room and community is run by Gutshot. The org opened a brick-and-mortar land based facility in 2004 to go along with its online business. By arguing that Gutshot was offering a game of chance (Poker), the local authorities promptly shut the brick and mortar facility down. The charge was operating a poker room without a license.

To counteract this, the owners of Gunshot fought against the prosecution arguing that poker was a game of skill. The argument is that as a game of skill it is not prohibited under the 1968 Gaming Act. As a part of the trial, Joe Kelly, the American business law professor testified saying that as a game, poker is definitely one of skill.

In the appeal action the result was that Gutshot lost its case. This happened when the court ruled that as a game, poker consists of significant elements of chance and should therefore be prohibited.

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