01 November 2025
The Norwegian player Ola "Odd_Oddsen" Amundsgård, a Pot Limit Omaha specialist, has issued a challenge to his country politicians: if they play 10,000 hands of PLO against him and win, he'll offer them 1 million krone (€124,341). Amundsgård's aim is to prove that poker is not a game of luck but a game of skill.
Despite Norway being considered a cradle of great players (like Johnny Lodden, Annette Obrestad or Thor Hansen), poker is illegal since it's seen as a game of luck.
If any politician accepts Amundsgård's challenge and the professional wins, he intends that more pressure is made so that the legal framework of poker in the country is changed.
In October, Erna Solberg (Conservative Party) was sworn in as Norway's new Prime Minister. Players expect that the new government has a new approach towards poker, and classifies it as a game of skill and not luck.
Erlend Wiborg (Progressive Party) has accepted Ola's challenge:
"I accept the challenge. The Progressive Party and I have agreed with Ola Amundsgård, and it's with satisfaction that I see that the new government is clear in the need to change the current laws, so that poker is allowed in a controlled way."
