A Danish poker player was not very happy recently when he was ordered by the Supreme Court to forfeit an amount of $38,000 that he had won while playing online poker. The Court found that he had been unemployed for a year and that his only source of income was derived from playing poker over the internet.
It is illegal to earn a living from gambling in Denmark even if the games are fun from outside Denmark due to the fact that the computers are located and used from within the country and it is therefore subject to local regulations.
According to the Copenhagen Post the unnamed 35 year old unemployed man had also been fined $979 for illegal professional gambling when he was originally convicted in November but fortunately for him The Supreme Court quashed this fine as the Court was not certain if the law covered online poker.
The Eastern High Court found a long-timer poker tournaments organizer guilty of the same charge but the accused argued that he was not violating any law and the court agreed that this ruling dealt with live tournaments and not online poker.
It is reported that approximately 50,000 Danes play online poker. Prosecutors announced that the State does not outlaw online gambling and cases depended on whether or not a player is playing professionally.