Christmas may be almost ten months away but it’s the buzz word in an Alaskan town this week after state officials banned a charity poker event which hoped to raise money to reply to children who thought they were writing to Santa Claus.

Officials in Alaska have put the kibosh on the poker tournament which was raising money for Santa Claus to answer Christmas wish list letters from thousands of kids.

A series of poker games were to be held at a South Fairbanks bar on Saturday afternoons to raise funds for the Santa's Mailbag charity in the North Pole, which answers letters sent to Father Christmas by children all over the world.

Poker matches were planned for most Saturdays throughout the months of March and April, but organisers have been forced to cancel the events after officials said they were against state gambling laws.

"We hope, in the future, we can do something," charity volunteer Frank Gaborik told Newsminer website.

Fairbanks police chief Dan Hoffman said that the poker series would not have constituted a serious crime, but added that "state law is clear, and I have to step up and tell the folks this is in violation of state law and don't do this".

"We just try to help people who have [liquor] licenses not put their license in jeopardy by hosting illegal gambling on their premises," Mr. Griffin said.

The Alaska Beverage Control Board also contacted the owners of the Silver Spur bar, where the poker series was set to be held, to explain to them the state's gambling laws.

The idea for Santa’s Mailbag was formulated by six Air Traffic Controllers working at Eielson AFB, Alaska in 1954. The plan was to mail letters from Santa to the Children of men and women in the armed forces stationed overseas. Before Santa mailed out the first letter both military and civilian children were on Santa’s list.