Poker is a game of chance and the organiser of a poker tournament can be prosecuted for breaking gambling laws, Amsterdam’s appeal court has ruled in a case which stretches back nearly 10 years.

Officially, the Netherlands regards poker as a gambling game, meaning the state owned Holland Casino group is the only organisation allowed to organise tournaments. The case centres on three men who organised poker tournaments in a bar in Bussum between 2005 and 2007 without a licence.

Lower court judges in 2010 and 2014 agreed with the defence, which argued poker has become a different game, depending on tactics, experience and psychology.

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