Poker to be an Olympic sport?
Posted by Carl Barnett on 11 Mar 2010 at 09:03
The International Federation of Poker is about to be accepted into a major organisation that will see it finding more exposure in the near future.
The International Mind Sports Association will be adopting poker as an official game of skill, which means it will join a list of games including Chess and Bridge.
The International Olympic Committee recognises games of skill and this means that poker will be considered an official game of skill in their eyes.
While this may not mean that poker will be played at the next Olympics, it does means that poker will be viewed in a more positive light by certain bodies.
The head of the International Federation of Poker, Anthony Holden, spoke to Bluff Europe recently, saying: ‘Poker is not like other casino games. It’s a social game where people are playing against each other, not the house, and a game where skill plays a bigger role than luck. There are 120 to 150 million poker players in the world and we deserve this recognition.’
Recent events have seen online poker gain a surge in popularity in the world of online gambling, which is indicative of the general success of poker as a sport across the world.
