In a recent ruling, the TRT-10 (Regional Labor Court of the 10th Region), which covers the Federal District and Tocantins, found void the employment contract of a woman working in a company the organizes poker tournaments.
The rapporteur of the case, Judge Pedro Foltran, justified the decision on the grounds that, because gambling is illegal, the employment contract is not valid. That's considering poker a game of chance.
Labor lawyer Luciano Andrade Pinheiro, from Corrêa da Veiga Advogados, explains that the TST (Superior Labor Court) has a consolidated case law that declares null employment contract developed in illicit activity and this understanding is due to labor claims against sales point that exploit the local popular ‘jogo do bicho’.
However, Andrade Pinheiro states that poker cannot be compared to the ‘jogo do bicho’ and, therefore, the understanding of TRT is wrong.
"The misconception of TRT's decision is to consider that poker is similar to the ‘jogo do bicho’. Poker is not a game of chance. It requires mathematical knowledge, with decision making linked to odds. Unlike ‘jogo do bicho’, which is a lottery where the player does not influence the outcome and is solely at the mercy of luck," explained the lawyer.
Andrade Pinheiro also pointed out that the law of criminal contraventions is very clear in categorizing gambling as the game in which winning and losing depend exclusively or mainly on luck.
In the process, the defense of the worker argued that the done job should be considered valid, because notes were made in the work card and also stressed that the Ministry of Sport recognized poker as a sporting activity, as luck has little relevance in the outcome of the game.
Source: GMB / IG
