In an announcement this week the International Federation of Poker revealed that the Brazilian Sports Ministry has officially acknowledged poker as a sport.
Although the decision was announced in a private meeting with members of the Confedera??o Brasileira de Texas Hold’em (CBTH), it was subsequently confirmed in government communications which recognised the CBTH as the official governing body of poker in Brazil.
The Brazilian Sport?s ministry?s website declared:
?Poker is a competitive discipline, which requires the participant to have intelligence, ability, and intellectual and behavioural skills in order to succeed. The CBTH represents the most extended definition of poker, Texas Hold?em and all the other variants of this game including but not exclusively Omaha, Omaha High / Low, 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud High / Low, Razz and Mixed Games.?
CBTH was among the first member federations of the International Federation of Poker. Its president, Igor Trafane is a respected player, speaker and strategist on lifting the stature of poker and its reputation with official bodies.
With the Brazilian Poker Tour starting in a few weeks, preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup under way, and the 2016 Olympic Games and World Mind games on the horizon, poker?s rise in sports-mad Brazil could not have come at a more appropriate time.
http://int.pokerfed.org/blog/poker-endorsed-as-brazil%E2%80%99s-newest-sport