Australian poker cheating scandal raises integrity concerns across the live tournament circuit

The downfall of a well-known Australian poker professional, caught smuggling chips during a New Year’s Eve tournament, has reignited debate over ethics, oversight and zero-tolerance enforcement in live poker events.

Australia.- The Australian live poker scene has been shaken by a high-profile cheating scandal involving Chris Skinner, a prominent tournament player and former brand ambassador for the Southern Poker Tour (SPT), who admitted to illegally adding chips to his stack during a New Year’s Eve event in Victoria.

The incident took place at a low-stakes Poker With Fred tournament held at the Grand Central Hotel in Cobram, near the Victoria–New South Wales border. Tournament staff became suspicious after noticing surplus chips on one of the tables early in play. A review of CCTV footage confirmed that a player had taken chips from his pocket and added them to his stack. Although the player initially denied wrongdoing, Skinner later publicly admitted responsibility.

“I cheated,” Skinner wrote on social media. “I brought chips into play that I had no right to bring into the game. No matter the amount or the result, it was wrong. There is no excuse for it.”

Following the admission, Skinner stepped down as an ambassador for the Southern Poker Tour and was handed an indefinite ban from all SPT-run events. The tour said it was “deeply shocked and extremely disappointed,” stressing that it prides itself on providing fair and ethical poker tournaments.

SPT also moved quickly to address concerns that the misconduct could have extended beyond a single event. In an official statement, the tour clarified that Skinner had never handled poker chips and had only assisted with transporting tables during the organisation’s early years. According to SPT, all chips are now transported and stored exclusively by owners or senior staff and kept in secure rooms with restricted access.

Reaction within the poker community has been divided. While some players have expressed personal support, many others have questioned the integrity of past results and called for lifetime bans and stricter enforcement standards, regardless of stakes. Fellow professionals openly voiced concerns online about trust and oversight in community-level tournaments.

Skinner has stated he will step away from poker for several months to reflect on his actions and has offered to apologise in person and contribute financially to a future local tournament as a gesture of accountability.

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The downfall of a well-known Australian poker professional, caught smuggling chips during a New Year’s Eve tournament, has reignited debate over ethics, oversight and zero-tolerance enforcement in live poker events….