Belgium: Antitrust investigates Loterie Nationale for unfair commercial practices on betting
(Jamma) Texas hold'em poker is not a game of chance – and therefore it is not a crime to organize tournaments – since it is a game in which skill prevails over chance. This is what the Cassation affirmed, rejecting the appeal filed by the Alessandria prosecutor's office regarding the seizure of a club where poker tournaments were organized with registration fees of 50 euros. According to the Supreme Court, the classic version of poker "can easily be included in the category of games of chance, as the risk is predominant in relation to the skill of the player". Texas Hold'em, on the other hand, "repeats these characteristics in the abstract", but the risk component takes on a secondary role when a series of conditions are met: the entry fees to the tournaments must have a limited amount, the players must have a endowment of chips is the same, there is no re-buy (the purchase of a new endowment of chips), and the final prizes are identified right from the start. In these cases, other aspects of the game, such as the participant's ability, his experience, aptitude for concentration, ability to evaluate the opponent, physical resistance, become "preeminent with respect to randomness". Consequently "the value of the bet loses importance compared to the commitment required, just as the purely playful aspect of the game assumes preponderance".
