Home / Poker News January 2009 / Poker ruled a game of skill in Colorado
Poker ruled a game of skill in Colorado
Posted by: James Carter. - Thu, 2009-01-29 19:40
After a Pennsylvania judge ruled the game of poker a game of skill about a week ago, a Colorado judge reached the same conclusion in the case of Colorado vs Kevin Raley, a case brought in front of the court after a busted home-style poker game which took place in Rafferty’s Bar in Greeley, CO.
According to details provided by the authorities, around 30 clients of the aforementioned bar took part in a game of Texas Holdem which featured no rake. Kevin Raley and four other people (organizers and dealers) were charged with ‘professional gambling’. The social group’s activities were advertised on the internet, as well as in other media.
The games did take place in the bar but were in fact organized by a poker club. The authorities inserted undercover agents into the games which took place twice a week, thus following the pattern of other such operations all over the country.
The game itself might have been considered one that met the state’s social gambling standards, however, given the fact that it was held in a location where alcohol was also served, it broke a state ban on such activities. During the trial, the jury chose to disregard these circumstances.
The defendants received substantial assistance from the PPA (Poker Players’ Alliance), which provided the court documents and evidence proving that poker was in fact a game of skill rather than one of chance.
The Colorado state law specifically exempts games of skill from under the legal category of illegal gambling. All the PPA and the defendants had to do basically was to convince the jury that poker was a game of skill and therefore the defendants couldn’t be held accountable on the charges brought. To that end, lawyer Todd Taylor brought forth University of Denver statistics professor Robert Hannum, whose testimony and presented evidence forwarded the defense’s case greatly. The PPA contributed through its Colorado director Gary Reed, who provided statistical data for the defense effort.
The significance of the decision is a far further reaching one than the acquittal of the concerned parties. It basically sets a legal framework for bar-league poker events in the state through the precedent it creates.
