Live Poker Not Considered Gambling in New Zealand

July 14 -  According to NZHerald.co.nz, Judge David Harvey of the New Zealand District Court ruled that live poker is not gambling and that ads run for it and for online poker educational sites such as Pokerstars.net are legal according to New Zealand law.

Online gambling is illegal in New Zealand, although online gambling through a foreign operator is not.

The Department of Internal Affairs in New Zealand brought a case against TV3 and C4 TV stations, claiming that ads run by the stations during the show, Celebrity Joker Poker were against New Zealand laws. The ads that were run are for Pokerstars.net and the Asia Pacific Poker Tour.

In Judge Harvey's ruling, he stated: "The nature of the material in the advertisement made it clear that what was being advertised was free websites that do not involve gambling." He ruling continued: "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."

Regarding the advertisement that were run for the Asia Pacific Poker Tour, Judge Harvey found that the ads were within the law in New Zealand due to the fact that the tournament "does not involve payment of consideration based upon the outcome of the game. It involves the splitting of a sum of money derived from the payment of the entry fees between the winning players." He continued regarding the tournament: "They are conducting a competition involving the game and play of poker."

It is expected that the Department of Internal Affairs will appeal the decision.