New Zealand Rules Poker is Not GamblingLive Poker Not Gambling and Ads for .Net Poker Sites Not Illegal |
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New Zealand District Court Judge David Harvey has ruled that live poker is not gambling and ads for it and online poker educational sites such as PokerStars.net do not contravene New Zealand law according to NZHerald.co.nz.
The country’s Department of Internal Affairs took a case against TV3 and C4 tv stations claiming ads shown during a show called Celebrity Joker Poker contravened New Zealand’s laws on the promotion of online gambling which is illegal in the country (though gambling online with a foreign operator is not.)
The ads at the centre of the case were for Pokerstars.net and the Asia Pacific Poker Tour.
Judge Harvey ruled that, "the nature of the material in the advertisements made it clear that what was being advertised was free websites that do not involve gambling.
“The navigational realities of the internet mean that there is a very significant difference between web addresses of any nature, be they .net, .com and .org even though they may be associated with a similar domain name.”
He also found that the ads for APPT were within the law because the tournament, “…does not involve the payment of consideration based upon the outcome of the game. It involves the splitting of a sum of money derived from the payment of entry fees between the winning players.
“They are conducting a competition involving the game and play of poker.”
The Department of Internal Affairs is expected to appeal the decision.
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