New International Poker Governing Body Established

The International Poker Federation was launched today comprising seven founding members. The IPF has elected the highly regarded poker writer Anthony Holden as its first president and states that its aim is to “free poker from the cruel and unfair restraints of gambling legislation across the globe.”

Holden, author of Big Deal, said “The Federation will begin by helping to make an international case for poker as a ‘mind-sport’. We have already had encouraging conversations with the International Mind Sports Association, based in Paris, who organise the Mind Sports Games alongside the Olympics every four years. If we can achieve membership, it will help the game become legal everywhere and start eliminating the restraints some countries are imposing on the game.”

The IPF was established in the home of the International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland by:

• Danish Poker Federation (Denmark)
• Fédération Française des Joueurs de Poker (France)
• Stichting Nederlandse PokerBond (Holland)
• UK Poker Federation (UK)
• Russian Sport Poker Federation (Russia)
• Ukrainian Poker Federation (Ukraine)
• Associacao Brazileira de Poker (Brazil)

The organisation is already in discussions with 20 other countries to join the IPF. It plans to pull together a sophisticated database of legislative and financial developments affecting poker around the globe and hope to standardise tournament rules internationally, and stage international team poker events.

The IPF will launch a comprehensive website in the near future.

Most Viewed Articles