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DATE: May 26 2012
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Poker.co.uk - Poker News Archive

Friday 19th January 2007

Gutshot in the Arm for Poker

The Gutshot Poker trial reached a dramatic conclusion this week, as an East London jury decided that poker is more a game of chance than one of pure skill.

The conclusion found Derek Kelly, owner of The Gutshot Poker Club, guilty of acting illegally under the outgoing UK Gaming Act of 1968 by organising and profiting from two games of poker without a licence.

The jury had heard both sides of the argument over several days. The prosecution had based their case on the fact that cards are shuffled thoroughly before every poker hand, introducing a definite element of chance at that point. The defence countered this argument. Joseph Kelly, a US business law teacher said that all games involve an element of chance, even if it is only in deciding which player goes first. He argued that the question should be whether skill or chance were most influential in determining the outcome of a game.

For the defendant, demonstrating that poker is a game dominated by skill was not enough to convince the jury that chance does not also play a part. The guilty verdict was welcomed by Judge Wilkinson, who said that any other verdict 'could have caused enormous problems for the gaming industry and given the green light for unregulated poker.'

However, Mr Kelly has remained defiant over the ruling declaring that the industry can take heart from the judge�s acceptance of poker as an �equal chance� game, especially with the new Gambling Law coming into force in September.

Derek Kelly will be sentenced at a later date but announced that he is to appeal, before declaring: �The Gutshot remains open.�

Source: OnlineCasinoNews

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