In 2007 the Sports Ministry in Russia registered poker as a “sport,” but in 2009 removed poker from the registry because poker clubs began taking advantage of the newly dubbed sport by operating illegal casinos.
This included a ban online poker.
However, after careful consideration, Russia is now thinking about lifting the ban on online poker due to the estimated 5 billion rubles ($146 million) it stands to generate annually in taxes. These taxes would be generated both from the online casinos, and from the winnings that players are paid out.
It is expected that a final decision will be made by the end of July.
While Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev has confirmed that lifting the ban is on the table, no official statement has been made. Poker Union President Kakha Kakhiani is the driving force behind lifting the ban, and has invested great time and energy in finding a happy medium both for online poker players and for the government’s bottom line.
While the first few years in operation are likely to generate between 2 and 3 billion rubles, as consumer adoption reaches its peak and casinos perfect their offerings, that number will likely rise to over 5 billion rubles annually within the first 4 years.
Of course, even though online poker is illegal in Russia, there is no doubt that casinos and gamblers alike are finding their way around the legalities. The risk for illegal casinos is high, and violates many laws (whether the casino is based in Russia or not), and gamblers run the risk of gambling on untrustworthy unregulated websites that offer no consumer protection.
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