Poker belong to the category of sport
While the US continues to take a few giant steps back in regard to poker and its immense income/tax potential, our Russian friends seem to have the right idea. A recent decision by Russian Federation’s ‘Federal Agency of Physical Culture and Sports’ has cleared the way for a new Russian poker boom. It’s a long-awaited event for all gambling lovers: Poker tournaments have received the status of official sport competitions, according to PokerNews.com. That site reports Dmitry Lesnoy, president of the Sport Federation of Russia, an organization created to promote poker’s interests within Russia, testified on behalf of poker during the commission’s hearings on the topic. Roughly translated, Lesnoy appealed that poker is an ‘intellectual game’ with widespread, mass-market interest. Lesnoy , an established Russian gaming writer, also organized a November 2006 conference of pro-gaming forces with representatives present from over 50 different Russian regions. This meeting of the ‘Federation of Sports Poker’ paved the way for the lobbying efforts supporting the game. 
“It is so pleasant,” commented Lesnoy , “that with the general background of persecution from the government towards gambling, the state still revealed wisdom and agreed with a factor, that poker can not belong to the category of gambling. It is a sport!” Whether this new position regarding poker has any impact on the US government’s stance towards the activity remains to be seen. The United Kingdom, which is very favorable towards online gambling, ruled earlier this year that poker is a game of chance, not a game of skill. This opinion was widely viewed as a severe setback to poker.