THE Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) officially accepted poker as a sport at its meeting today (July 23) with this expected to help draw revenue to the country through holding competitions at both regional and global levels, Naewna and The Standard newspapers said.
The SAT meeting, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit and attended by Tourism & Sports Minister Surawong Thienthong, SAT Governor Kongsak Yodmanee and agency’s directors, also recognized American football as an official sport of Thailand.
This followed international recognition of American football by the Sports Accord and the International Olympic Committee. It was also selected as one of the five new sports for the LA 28 Olympic Summer Games.
The Thai national team has performed well in flag football, which is a variant of American football. The men’s team was ranked 5th in the world out of 36 countries in 2023 and won a gold medal at the Asian Beach Games in Phuket in 2014.
SAT said poker is one of the most popular card sports in the world because it is not complicated to play. Even so it requires intelligence to analyse the game as well as psychology, mental stability, emotional control, courage to make decisions and ability to assess the possibility of defeating competitors in the game.
Poker could also bring income to athletes with competitions drawing both participants and spectators to the country.
This would also help promote Thailand into a sports tourism destination with the revenue benefiting the country as a whole.
However, SAT warned that poker must be played as a sport and not be linked to gambling.
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