The International Mind Sports Association have announced that they intend to accept the International Federation of Poker as a member association at their next meeting in April. This means that the International Olympic Committee will automatically accept poker on their list of skill games such as chess, bridge, checkers or go. "Getting the same recognition as chess and bidge is a great breakthrough for poker," says the IFP president, author Anthony Holden.


While this does not mean that we will ever see poker at the olympics, the decision may nevertheless prove important in other ways. For instance, IOC's recognition is going to be a strong argument for those who say poker is a skill game whenever the game's status is debated in court rooms. This in turn may mean that it will be easier to set up private poker clubs in those jurisdictions where the game has previously been monopolised by the state.

"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," says IFP president Anthony Holden.

IMSA will organize the World Mind Sports Games in conjunction with the London Olympic Games in 2012 and poker may well be on the list of games there.

Source: Aftonbladet.