In a landmark development for the poker community, the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) officially recognized poker as a mind sport on November 16, 2024. Yes, the game of poker has been added to the list of mind sports alongside chess and eSports.
This acknowledgement by IMSA is a result of a long-fought battle to establish Poker as a mind game. The campaign to establish the game as a mind sport was led by the World Poker Federation (WPF), a highly active network of 49 national poker federations, and counting.
Although poker features an element of luck, it requires mental skills, focus, decision-making, and a strategic approach to win a game. Thus, keeping these characteristics in consideration, IMSA concluded that it’s a Mind Sport as it meets the required criteria.
This marks the victory of everyone(pictured above) representing the entire poker community. Each of the above members has fought hard to have poker recognized as a mind sport.
“We have achieved something today that is both unprecedented and definitive,” said WPF President Igor Trafane, pictured above, righ with IMSA CEO Geoffrey Borg, “Our mission now is to build the foundation that every major sport already has: standardized regulations, professional pathways, player protections, and international competitions.
The event to celebrate poker as a mind sport got a massive support from major poker brands like PokerStars, the Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP), Suprema Poker, and H2 Club. The evening was highlighted by a special tournament that saw more than 70 guests competing in a relaxed and enjoyable environment.
PokerStars finally awarded the winners with seats to major events: the Main Event of the Latin America Poker Tour (LAPT) for the champion, the Main Event of the Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP) for the runner-up, and the Main Event of the São Paulo State Poker Championship (CPH) for the third-place finisher.
World Poker Federation (WPF)
WPF is an organization that was set up with the mission to protect, grow and develop the game as a mind sport on the global scale. The team behind WPF has been working continuously for years to get the game recognized as a mind game. The organization brings people together who believe in poker’s potential and are committed to the game’s growth and fair play. Apart from that, the federation also advocates removing the outdated game regulations so that it will continue to evolve in the favor of players as well as stakeholders.
The Federation has major Poker institutes from around 50 countries from all over the world, namely South Africa, Uganda, India, Thailand, Argentina, Australia, Japan, Germany, and others.
WPF’s Role For Elevating Poker To Mind Sport Status
The National Sports Poker Federation Of Chile (FNP) led the efforts and presented compelling evidence to prove that Poker is a mental sport. Earlier, Brazil persuasively argued with the respective organization on its Texas Hold’em variant which helped Chile to come up with a solid legal precedent.
During the advocacy, WPF provided expert testimonials and jurisprudential references to bring poker out from the walls of the casino and be acknowledged as a mental sport. As a result, poker will no longer be under the Superintendency of Gaming Casinos (SCJ) but will have an independent sports framework.
Poker’s recognition by IMSA has been a long battle. It follows a provisional membership granted to the WPF in December 2022. In the last two years, the WPF has worked on uniting national federations, cooperating with governments, and promoting poker’s development.
Finally, their efforts payoff and poker is no longer a game of chance, it is a mind sport now and will be a mind sport forever. While challenges remain in terms of its regulation, but its recognition lays a strong foundation for the game’s future ahead.
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Image Credit: WPF
