Just recently the Supreme Court in South Korea upheld a ruling that stated placing a wager on a game of golf is considered gambling. The rule was first put in place by an appellate court and then moved on to the Supreme Court.

The appellate court ruled this decision after a fifty five year old man was found guilty of habitual gambling. The man would serve eight months in prison. Another man was found guilty of the same charges and was given a two year suspended sentence. Two more men were also found guilty but would receive only a year suspended term.

All the men were accused of playing golf for money from December 2002 to May 2004. The men were believed to have played more than 32 times during that time period and wagering each time. During the first nine holes the winner would win 500,000 per stroke and one million was won during the last nine holes.

A lower court found the men not guilty and acquitted them of the charges stating: ``in gambling, the issue is swayed by `chance,' like a slot machine or poker. But in sports games, the issue is mainly decided by players' skill and ability. So, playing golf for money is not gambling. If betting on golf is gambling, a Skins Game, in which the winner of each hole takes a prize, is gambling as well. If so, it will make professional golfers Park Se-ri and Grace Park also gamblers.''

The case then moved on to the appeal court where the men were found guilty. The appeal court stated that it was impossible to know the result of each game even though it depended mostly on the player’s skill to play the game.

The court said: ``The authorities regulate gambling in order to protect economic ethics by punishing those not obtaining money through fair labor. There is no reason to treat golf betting differently from other gambling.'' The Supreme Court agreed and upheld this ruling.


- 2008-10-27