Poker has been classified as a sport in Russia

The Russian Sports Minister Vyacheslav Fetisov announced that poker has been classified as a sport in Russia. This is to a large extent the result of intense lobbying activities from Dmitry Lesnoy, President of the Russian Sport Poker Federation. How will the classification of poker as a sport effect the market for poker in Russia? Lesnoy and the Poker Federation are of the opinion that poker is going to be exempted from the harsh regulations of the gambling industry that was approved by President Putin and the Duma in late 2006. According to the new law, the existence of casinos is to be restricted to four selected geographical zones. The regulations also included a total prohibition of online gambling, including online poker. If poker is indeed to be considered as a sport, there should not be any geographical restrictions regarding its practice, allowing card rooms offering poker to operate freely. It should be easy to operate small card rooms in cities with an established demand for poker rather than in the designated gambling zones. The fee for organising poker games should also disappear. The Sport Poker Federation believe that organising poker tournaments should be straightforward, as long as the rules established by the Federation are followed. Furthermore, poker should gain greater acceptance as a respectable pastime in the long run, further increasing the games popularity. The Russian Sport Poker Federation is highly optimistic about the future development of poker in Russia and expects a boom in interest over the next few years. At the very least, the recent classification of poker as a sport suggests the possibility of a more promising future for poker in Russia, compared to that which had been expected in the aftermath of the new regulations. It is increasingly likely that online poker will be treated differently from other forms of online gaming. If online poker is indeed exempted from the gambling regulations, the popularity of poker in Russia could increase dramatically as players turn away from other forms gambling in order to participate in the nations new favourite sport.