Poker Deemed Not ‘Gambling’ in Colorado Criminal Case
- Friday, January 30, 2009, 9:45
- Carousel, Poker News
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A criminal trial in the state of Colorado has recently come back with a not guilty verdict for the defendant and with the ruling it brought more credence that poker is game of skill. The case was Colorado versus Kevin Raley, which went to court after state authorities raided a poker game taking place at Rafferty’s Bar in Greeley, Colorado. At the bar around 30 people were playing poker as a part of a social group, which was advertised online and other places. The charge of “professional gambling” was brought against Raley, as well as 4 other people that were dealers in the game or organizers of the game.
The case received assistance from the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), as officials from the organization gave evidence that poker is a skill game and because of that could not be seen as gambling under state law of Colorado. Colorado law specifically exempts “bona fide contests of skill.” Todd Taylor, the defense attorney in the case, presented testimony by University of Denver statistics professor Robert Hannum, which asserted that poker has a high element of skill and that fact was a huge factor in the jury’s decision of not guilty for the defendants.
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