Seeking Recognition
The online casino poker gambling industry is going for gold this week with the
announcement that CircusCasino.co.uk is spearheading efforts to have poker
recognized as an Olympic sport. Land and internet poker is on of the fastest
growing games in the world – but is it a sport? That’s a tough call; and a call
that the Olympic committee will be forced to face long before the 2012 Olympics.
This new initiative brings up the ongoing debate about poker as a game of skill
versus chance, but puts the issue on the world stage rather than in individual
court rooms in far-flung countries all over the world. The poker industry has
long looked for ways to separate itself from a connection with the online casino
gambling industry – recognition as an Olympic sport would certainly change the
nature of the ongoing debate.
Circus Casino is a subsidiary of the Mansion online gambling group and a popular
destination for internet poker enthusiasts. The initiative has already released
an internet campaign to the online gambling industry – players and sites
included. This is just the first of many planned efforts though. The initiative
is looking to gain world-wide support for the inclusion of poker in the Olympics
before the Olympic organizers are set to decide. A spokesperson for Mansion,
Peter Nolan, highlighted the fact that land and online casino poker gambling is
one of the fastest growing sports in the world. “Poker's appeal is global, it
transcends gender and age and is the fastest-growing sport in the world - it's
ripe for Olympic recognition,” observes Nolan.
Those supporting the initiative are also quick to note that millions worldwide
already watch poker on the television and several more progressive countries
already consider the game of poker a sport rather than merely a gambling game. |