An Amsterdam Court of Appeal has ruled that poker is a game of chance thereby finding two men guilty of organising illegal poker tournaments in the nation’s capital nearly a decade ago.
Amsterdam.
Sleep with a prostitute – tick.
Smoke some weed – tick.
Organise a poker tournament – don’t get carried away son.
In 2007, Richard Blaas and Rene Kurver, owners of Amsterdam’s Cafe de Viersprong Bussum, were arrested for organising and hosting €10 re-buy poker tournaments at their gaff. Three years later, Dutch professional poker player Steven van Zadelhoff also faced charges after allegedly breaking gambling laws when organising poker tournaments.
Lawyer Peter Plasman was hired to represent the three men and he got to work quickly successfully arguing that the court should drop all charges against van Zadelhoff because poker is a game of skill. The Bussum case took seven years for the court to reach their verdict. Plasman using the van Zadelhoff ruling as leverage. In 2014, both men were acquitted of all charges after the court once again ruled that poker was a game of skill.
The Amsterdam Court of Appeal Disagrees.
In an article appearing in DutchNews this week, court documents reveal that Court of Appeal officials has overturned the ruling. They believe poker is a game of chance and not skill as the two previous courts had ascertained.
The defence argued that while poker does carry an element of chance, skill is still the predominant factor. Plasman asserted that evidence shows that the most skilful poker players usually come out on top of multi-player poker tournaments, and the fact that the tax office now accepts poker as a business also demonstrates that poker is a skill game.
His reasoning fell on death ears. The Court of Appeal stated that as the players do not have any influence over what two hole cards they receive, nor do they have any determination in the way the flop, turn or river falls, shows that chance plays more of a pivotal role in the game than skill.
The two men were handed a suspended fine of €1,250 for their part in organising the poker tournaments. The bar owner received a €500 fine. The court suspended the fines because of the absurd length of time since the arrests.
The Holland Casino, home of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Main Event, is the only place where you can legally play poker tournaments in the Netherlands.
