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Bad news from Belgium

Posted By: Daniel Murphy
Date: Friday, 8 October 2010, at 6:36 p.m.

In Response To: Bad news from Belgium (Bob Koca)

Is bridge (or poker or any other skill-luck games allowed)? Then it could be argued that by precedent backgammon should be allowed.

In Belgium or Denmark?

In Denmark, yes, this was part of DBgF's argument: since tournament bridge was not anticipated to be subject to the proposed law, and since tournament bridge and tournament backgammon had long enjoyed the same status as legal games and as officially recognized mind sports, therefore neither should tournament backgammon be subject to the proposed law.

More detail?

The tax ministry's commentary to the March 2010 proposal specifically cited

"bridge ('rubber bridge' -- not tournament bridge), poker, backgammon, whist"

as examples of "combination games" (combining skill and chance) subject to the proposal. Tournament bridge was thus not a "combination game" and thus not subject to the proposal. DBgF argued that tournament backgammon resembled tournament bridge. The argument had two forks: either tournament backgammon was a game of skill as was tournament bridge, or tournament backgammon was as deserving of exemption from the proposal as tournament bridge, given that despite the existence of elements of chance in bridge, tournament bridge was not anticipated to be subject to the proposed law, and that backgammon, bridge (and chess!) had for years equally enjoyed official recognition as mind sports.

The tax ministry's initial response was discouraging, saying that backgammon was clearly a "combination game" and therefore subject to the proposal regardless of the preponderance of skill or chance in the game. Fortunately, the ministry's final response suggested a compromise satisfactory to DBgF: without addressing whatever similarity exists between tournament backgammon and tournament bridge and without retracting its opinion that backgammon was a "combination game," the ministry agreed to insert language specifically exempting tournament backgammon from the proposed law. And that's what was done.

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