Senators prepare to gamble on online poker

When it comes to the concerns of constituents, it's always worth the gamble.

Crossbench senators David Leyonhjelm and Cory Bernardi are jointly sponsoring a motion in parliament's upper house on Tuesday that refers impediments to online poker to an inquiry.

"It's prohibited. The stupid government has made it virtually impossible to play poker online," Senator Leyonhjelm told reporters in Canberra.

The senator said it was brought to his attention by concerned poker fans that recent amendments to the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001 had the unintentional consequence of prohibiting online gambling.

"As a result thousands of Australians who play poker for fun ... can't play it online, or they won't once the bill takes effect," he said.

"It's insane."