Danish Supreme Court rules Private Poker Games are Illegal

Mike Stephens
Tuesday 23rd June 2009

CB018569 Frederik Hostrup-Pedersen, head of the Danish Poker Federation, has been found guilty of arranging gambling events and fined 5000 Krona by the Danish Supreme Court.

The court rules that poker games cannot be held privately in Denmark as poker is a game of chance. Only organisations with a gaming licence may now offer poker games legally in Denmark.

The Supreme court upheld the ruling of the Eastern High Court and insisted Hostrup-Pedersen must pay his fine. Earlier the Copenhagen City Court ruled in favour of Hostrup-Pederson and the Poker Federation but that ruling was overturned.

Hostrup-Pedersen said; “It’s an unfortunate ruling because we wanted to show Danes that poker is a thinking man’s sport comparable to chess or backgammon.”

The Danish Conservative Party are now lobbying for a new law which would allow poker tournaments with a maximum buy in of 300 Krona.

Tom Behnke, the party’s political affairs spokesman, said; “You should be allowed to have a fun evening with friends at a poker tournament without feeling like a criminal.”