The Lithuanian government officially recognized poker as a sport. The recognition was made by the country’s Department of Physical Education and Sports which issued a bill that formally listed the Lithuanian Sports Poker Federation as an official sports federation. The move is expected to make poker a more popular sport in Lithuania.
With this recognition, LSPF will now be able to hose poker tournaments that are non-commercial in venues outside casinos in the Baltic nation. Poker enthusiasts are now hoping that this is a sign that the game is entering more doors.
Andrius Tapinas, president of the LSPF, said that the approval of the Lithuanian government is the culmination of their hard work to have poker recognized. Their international counterparts have also been congratulating them, Tapinas added.
The poker federation will organize its first official tournament next month and will be presented to a thriving Lithuanian sports media. Considering the freshness of the game and the celebrity status of Tapinas in the country, the tournament will surely get a lot of attention.
The Lithuanian Sports Poker Federation has just recently joined the International Federation of Poker. It has also received endorsements from Pokerstars.net and PokerNews.
The first LSPF tournament will be held between April 24 and April 26 in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. Tapinas has already projected that this would be the biggest poker tournament in the Baltic region.
