by Hillary LaClair, Senior Editor
January 9, 2009
The online poker community may see South Carolina legislators set a progressive precedent for the game next month. Because of the arrests of five players, a Municipal Court Judge, J. Lawrence Duffy, Jr., is willing to hear arguments that poker is a game of skill. The court date is set for Friday, February 13th.
The poker world celebrated an enormous victory last month, when a legal team was able to convince Duffy to consider the evidence that poker requires more skill than chance. Should he rule in favor of this argument, a number of firsts will be set in the U.S. Not only would five defendants be acquitted of gambling charges, but it would force South Carolina legislators to rewrite a law than is more than 100 years old and criminalizes all dice and card games.
Most importantly, this may be the first ruling in the United States that would categorize poker as a game of skill, giving political clout to the game and to online poker advocates. Additionally, this court case may be brought up in future attempts to overturn the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act), or even the Kentucky domain seizure case. Specifically, it would most pertain to the Internet Skill Game Licensing and Control Act, Senator Robert Menendez’s bill that would see “simulated cards, dice or tiles in which success is predominantly determined by the skill of the players,” licensed and regulated by the U.S. Department of Treasury.
The arrests of five individuals, Bob Chimento, Scott Richards, Michael Williamson, Jeremy Brestel and John Taylor Willis, took place more than two years ago, when police raided a small-stakes tournament in Mount Pleasant. While dozens of other players involved simply paid a miniscule fee to absolve themselves of the charges, these five poker fans decided to challenge the outdated law.
Chimento told Card Player that the team has received “substantial” patronage from a source who wishes to remain anonymous, to be used toward their defense.
Earlier this year, Dutch Professor Van der Genugten, appealed to the Dutch Supreme Court, with what he and a co-creator claimed was a formula proving poker as a game of skill. The formula implements the basic principle of a skill ratio, and one’s ability to learn and adapt to the game - the latter of which, determines the outcome of a game between a skilled player and a novice.
The formula can prove that a game, such as Roulette, leaves no room for learning and would therefore produce a skill ratio of 0. Games comprised solely of skill would have a ratio of 1, and under this implication, poker holds a skill ratio of 0.4. Blackjack has a skill ratio of 0.049, and fantasy sports, a legalized industry (even in the gambling world), holds a skill ratio of 0.3.
The idea that poker requires more skill than chance has been argued for years, and is the top reasoning for online poker advocates, such as the Poker Players Alliance, in attempts to legalize the industry.
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