A controversial ruling by the Swedish Supreme Court regarding the “skill versus luck” argument in poker has given advocates on both sides some ammunition.
Last week, the Swedish Supreme Court determined that poker is both a skill game and a game of “random chance.” In its decision, the Supreme Court determined that the deciding factor in the “skill versus luck” argument is what game is being played and how long it is played for. The decision is important in that certain forms of poker would be legal under Swedish law, while others would violate the country’s statutes.
“We have found that the main tournament and its side tournaments were not random chance games, but that skill does come in to it,” Swedish Justice Göran Lamberth told news agency TT on Wednesday. That said, Judge Lamberth added that cash games were “random chance” because players can play whenever they want, bet whatever they want, and leave at any time.
The Swedish Supreme Court heard arguments on the “skill versus luck” debate in a poker case that dates back to 2007. Four men were convicted of violating the gambling laws of Sweden when they organized a tournament that spanned several days and involved several hundred players. In prior appeals, two of the organizers were acquitted and the other two had their punishments reduced because they were able to convince the Court that there was a skill aspect to poker.
According to Swedish law, to be convicted of a serious gambling crime, it is necessary for the game being played to depend to a substantial degree on chance rather than a player’s skill. The decision by the Swedish Supreme Court is critical because if poker were found to be an entirely skill-based game, then companies that offer betting services in Sweden could legally offer it. If poker were found to be a completely skill-based game, then the possibility of taxation on poker income would also come into play.
The decision by Sweden’s highest court has opened up discussion on the poker forums. At TwoPlusTwo, “Talisman3,” broke down the decision of the Swedish Supreme Court: “They ruled liked this because they thought that in a tournament, it’s very unlikely, or even ‘skilled,’ to bust out of the first hand, so you’ll end up playing more hands… therefore it’s a game of skill. In CGs, you can if you so choose play only one hand and, since luck is a big part of a single hand’s outcome, therefore CGs are luck-based.”
“For CGs to be considered skill-based, I think you’d have to have a rule to force players to play for an hour or something,” “Talisman3” concluded. “Which is not going to happen.”
“Talisman3’s” post brought out some ire towards the Swedish Supreme Court from other TwoPlusTwo members. “Is this some sort of joke,” asked “Always.” “How can an entire country’s government be so stupid? It’s amazing how ignorant people are towards the world of poker.”
A Swedish TwoPlusTwo member, “MyNameIsInga,” offered a comment from someone whom the decision will most affect. “As a Swedish citizen, I’m both happy and unhappy with the results. Happy because it means continued tax-free income, but unhappy or worried because, if they come to these sorts of obviously retarded decisions about poker, how many other retarded decisions do they make?”
“Also, I don’t understand the reasoning behind the decision,” “MyNameIsInga” continued. “Whether poker is a game of luck or skill is a matter of evidence. It should be statistically possible to show that players who are big winners over large samples can’t be that solely because of luck.”
