A 35 year old unemployed Danish man has been ordered to hand over to the state €26,000 which represent his online poker winnings over the course of a year.
The decision taken by The Supreme Court reflects a law in Denmark making it illegal for a citizen of the country to earn their entire living from gambling. However, due to a dispute of whether online poker was included in the law, a 5000 kroner fine that was originally levied by the Eastern High Court in November was waived. It was also made clear that although the online poker servers were not located in Denmark, the man’s computer was and thus covered by the law of the land.
Following the ruling, prosecutors were quick to emphasizese that the law relates to professional gambling and that gambling per se was not breaking the law. Svend Larsen commented: “We will decide on a case by case basis whether someone is playing professionally.”
This case follows one earlier in the year where a man was prosecuted for organising live poker tournaments for a living. Rather confusingly in that instance the man was successful in convincing The Supreme Court he had not broken any laws and was acquitted.
