With parliamentary moves for a more liberal approach to poker imminent, two Norwegian MPs have decided it’s time to broaden their knowledge of the game ahead of probable debates on the issue.
Per Sandberg and Roy Steffensen have announced that they plan to take part in a poker championship event taking place in Oslo this week.
The publication The Foreigner claims this is the first time MPs have taken part in this sort of competition in Norway.
It comes following statements earlier this month from the Norwegian Minister of Culture for the Conservative Party, Thorhild Widvey, who said she hoped poker would soon be legalised so a championship “…could be held in Norway in 2015″ (see previous reports).
The bipartisan coalition government has already promised to implement the necessary legislative amendment to affect this goal.
“I want to learn more about the game and the culture before [the issue of] poker comes before Parliament, because I’m sure it will,” Progress deputy leader Per Sandberg told Aftenbladet Monday.
Norway and Albania are the only European countries that do not allow monetary prizes in poker games, a situation that Steffensen characterises as “absolutely ridiculous.”