The Danish legislation relevant to gaming does not distinctly define
"games of skill" and "games of chance". "Hasard" and "hasardspill"
(danish for "game of chance") are referred to in several acts, most
notably the Danish Criminal Code of September 30th 2003, whose § 203
prohibits games of chance that are not explicitly permitted by other
legal provisions (http://www.retsinfo.dk/DELFIN/HTML/A2004/0096029.htm).
However, The Danish Ministry of Taxation's web site has a web page
that summarises the current Danish gaming legislation
(http://www.skat.dk/publikationer/udgivelser/1695/1699/ , section
4.1). This web page defines games of chance as "traditional games
whose prizes are of more than an insignificant economic value, where
the outcome depends nearly exclusively on chance, and where
participants are required to pay a bet".
Consequently, a "game of skill" would be a game where the outcome
depends on more than just chance. The first Danish law that
prohibited gambling (a Royal Decree of 1753) did permit "kunstspil"
("games of skill"), defining those as games where the outcome depended
on the participants' "knowledge, experience and address" (the meaning
of "address" is a bit unclear, but presumably refers to the
participant's "social skills".
(http://www.jm.dk/wimpdoc.asp?page=document&objno=58198 , section
4.2.)
A Eastern High Court decision of 1975 stated that games such as
"Tennessee-Hold-Me Poker" is a game of chance, even if the players may
use their experience, skill and mathematical methods to play better
than less skilled opponents. The possible advantages of skill and
experience were ruled to be of such a limited value that the game
could not be considered a game of skill. A 1962 ruling by the same
court stated that games of chance are illegal even if the bets are
very low, if the person in charge of the games earns a profit. A
similar 1977 decision stated that "one-armed bandits"/"fruit machines"
provided by a closed club were illegal even if the prizes were paid in
tokens that could only be used for payment of goods within the club,
notwithstanding that all profit from the machines went back to the
club members.
The Danish governing body of gaming is Spillemyndigheten ("the gaming
authority"). It is an office within the Central Customs and Tax
Administration, reporting directly to the Customs and Tax Director.
Its website is at http://www.erhverv.toldskat.dk/ToldSkat.aspx?oID=100239
(Danish only).
Additional Resources:
The Danish law firm Lexiadvokaterne has a web page discussing gaming
law (http://www.retssal.dk/nyheder2.php3?side=783, in Danish only).
The page refers to several decisions in Danish courts, such as the
three mentioned above.
"Spil i fremtiden - overvejelser om en samlet spillelovgivning" ("The
Future of Gaming in Denmark - the need for unified gaming
legislation"), a report published by the ministry of Taxation in April
2001 (includes the summary of Danish gaming legislation referred to in
the 2nd paragraph above)
http://www.skat.dk/publikationer/udgivelser/1695/ (Danish)
http://www.skat.dk/publikationer/udgivelser/1695/1913/ (summary in English)
"Betænkning om spil på forlystelsessteder, i restaurationer og
foreninger" ("Reflections on gaming in places of entertainment,
restaurants and clubs"), published by The Danish Ministry of Justice
in 1997)
http://www.jm.dk/wimpdoc.asp?page=document&objno=58176 (Danish only)
"Danish legislation regarding on-line gambling", published by the
Danish law firm Lett, Vilstrup & Partners
http://www.legal500.com/devs/denmark/tm/dktm_002.htm (English only)
Decisions by the Danish Gaming Committee (only two summaries are published so far):
http://www.erhverv.toldskat.dk/ToldSkat.aspx?oID=133241&vID=0&i=6#i133241
(Danish only)
The legal basis of the Danish gaming authority:
http://www.erhverv.toldskat.dk/ToldSkat.aspx?oID=100242&vID=0&i=1#i100242
(Danish only)
Danish law firms working with gaming law (listings in the HierosGamos
Legal Directory):
DLA Nordic
http://www.hierosgamos.org/hg/db_lawfirms.asp?action=page&pcomp=37165&page=1&country=Denmark&SubCategory=Gaming|Law
Bech-Bruun Dragsted
http://www.hierosgamos.org/hg/db_lawfirms.asp?action=page&pcomp=1562&page=1&country=Denmark&SubCategory=Agency|Law
I hope this information is helpful to you. According to your request,
I have given priority to providing you with a quick answer and have
not delved into all the possible resources I found during my research.
I will continue working with a few leads (that are less likely be
useful), and will post any additional information here when I locate
it.
If you would like me to work further with any particular part of this
matter, please tell me in an answer clarification request, and I?ll do
my best to supply you with the information you need.
Search terms used on Google:
danmark spil OR hasard lov OR lovgivning
denmark OR danish gaming legislation OR law
afgørelse OR afgørelser spil OR hasard OR lykkespil |
