A recent ruling by a Pennsylvania judge on the 16th January 2009 ruled that the poker game Texas Hold ‘EM is a game of skill and under the state law is therefore not gambling. This could have important implications in other states as it is expected that this ruling will be cited when prosecutions are brought under laws in other states.
It is believed that this will have a direct effect on the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act which was approved in the United States congress in 2006. It is this federal law that allows the various states to determine what is unlawful within their borders, and most states make a sharp distinction between what is a game of chance and what is a game of skill. Clearly if it is considered that gambling is based upon chance, then a game of skill cannot be considered to be gambling.
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