Will Poker Officially be Recognized as a Game of Skill?

While many news outlets have jumped the gun and announced that The International Poker Federation has been approved by the International Mind Sports Association, the president of the IPF, Anthony Holden, is letting everyone know that nothing is finalized -in fact the application process is in its initial stage-and Holden has called these findings “premature”.

Holden went on to clarify the current confusion by explaining, The International Poker Federation is planning to apply to the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) in an effort to officially recognize poker as a game of skill.  The IMSA currently includes 4 International Federations: World Bridge Federation, World Chess Federation, World Draughts Federation, and the International Go Federation; the inclusion of the International Federation of Poker would be a major victory for the proponents of legalizing poker.

What would inclusion in the IMSA mean for poker?

Most importantly it would erase the social stigma that lumps poker in with gambling games based solely on luck. By replacing poker’s association with blackjack, craps, and roulette with chess, bridge, go and draughts (also known as checkers to most of us) poker could finally receive the respect it deserves as a game of skill. This would likely accelerate online poker’s legalization and less stringent regulations of brick and mortar poker games -In some states it’s illegal to play poker for nickels at your kitchen table!

Inclusion would also bring about an air of respectability to poker professionals, by making them more than simply professional gamblers. This type of recognition could lead to numerous opportunities for both individual sponsorships and possibly tournament sponsorship with money added to the prize-pool. So far, mainstream products haven’t jumped on the poker bandwagon -much like the UFC-despite the huge following poker has gained. Undoubtedly a lot of this has to do with a fear of backlash from family values groups should companies like Coke, Pepsi, General Mills, or AT&T start sponsoring poker players or tournaments.

Additionally, the IMSA’s ultimate goal is to see “mind sports” competitions take place under the Olympic banner. If they should succeed in their aim, the IMSA would like to see these Olympic “mind sports” competitions occur before or after the Summer/Winter Olympic games in the host city.

Finally, the creation of a poker federation could lead to a united poker tour, instead of the current situation with 5 or 6 major poker tours, along with a few independent major poker tournaments, like the World Series of Poker or Aussie Millions. This “United Poker Tour” could be exactly what is needed to take poker to the next level; perhaps boosting attendance to WSOP numbers at every stop?