The Tasmanian Liberal Government is on track to get social poker back up and running in pubs as quickly as possible.
Acting Minister for Finance, Michael Ferguson said the Government will deliver on its commitment to enable genuine social poker tournaments in venues across Tasmania through a Ministerial Direction.
“Under our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future we committed to ensuring social poker tournaments can be played in Tasmania,” Minister Ferguson said.
“This is a genuine social activity for many Tasmanians, and we are working with the social poker community to get poker tournaments back up and running as soon as possible.
“The Tasmanian Government committed to make amendments to re-open a vibrant and thriving social poker scene that fosters community connection.
“We are advised that legislative amendment to the Gaming Control Act is not required to get people back playing games of social poker, that have low entry fees and do not involve wagering.
“The Minister will direct the Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission to declare social poker an exempt game under the Act. This direction will be made within the First 100 Days, as committed.
“This will allow small-scale social poker tournaments to operate subject to specified conditions, ensuring Tasmanians can continue to enjoy a game of social poker in their local pub, without further regulatory oversight.
“Our priority is to find a solution that gets pub tournament poker back up and running as soon as we can, and declaring social poker an exempt game under the Act is the quickest way of doing this.”
Non-tournament poker – that operates like a casino table game – would remain lawful only when conducted in a casino.
Under our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future, we are paving the way for a vibrant and thriving social poker scene that aligns with our commitment to Tasmania’s prosperous future.
