After years of dedicated effort behind the scenes, Managing Director of APT, Tony Hachem, the founder of All In Charity and Poker with the Stars Charity events, has been working with his lawyers and the Victorian Gaming Commissioner (VGCCC) to further modernise and professionalise the sport and its governance.

To navigate the complex landscape of regulation on poker tournaments, the Hachem Management Group & Australian Poker Tour engaged one of the top gaming lawyers in Australia and successfully applied to the Victorian Gaming and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) not only for a licence for the event, but also permission to partner with an independent ticketing agency for professional, third party management of ticketing into APT tournaments on standard industry terms.

Additionally, the Hachem Management Group and APT have secured sponsorship agreements with several sponsors to help fund its tournament series. 

It's essential to highlight that while conducting a poker tournament is legally permitted in Victoria, poker operators cannot collect any administrative, management, or service fees under the regulations determined by the Victorian Gaming Commissioner.

Our goal at the Hachem Management Group is to demonstrate to regulators that tournament poker is indeed a sport and can be conducted outside of a casino setting, just like any other sport, by utilising customary sports events structures, including customary ticketing agency arrangements and sponsorship arrangements. We are excited to continue to build our sport and the professionalism and integrity that goes along with it.