Poker Is a Sport - Russian Federation Recognizes Poker - Gambling Laws Could Be Affected

Poker has official status in the Russian Federation. Russia's "Federal Agency of Physical Culture and Sports" has ruled that poker is now considered an offical 'sport' in Russia.

This status signals a major shift in how poker will be viewed by Russian law enforcement officials. Russian poker advocates testified before an organizational panel that poker is more than a mere game of luck. Characteristics that were listed that winning poker players needed were analytical talents, tenacity, training and skills.

Based on these criteria, it was decided that there's a whole lot more going on than betting on even-money odds. The fact there are professional poker players attests to the fact that a person's skill has a lot to do with longterm winning.

Anyone who has played a twelve hour poker session knows that endurance is a large part of the game. Sure, you don't have to hit a ball 450 feet over a fence, but keeping one's mental edge and patience for half a day at a time can be an ordeal.

This is great news for Russian poker players. Recent laws in Russia called for the creation of four gambling zones in that giant Eurasian state. It now looks like poker will be exempted from these gambling zones, making poker legal in every corner of the Federation.

one of the great unreported facts is the revitalization of the Russian economy in the past five years under Putin. By instituting a stronger central government, attracting foreign investments and tapping into the largest oil reserves in the world, the Russian Federation is now one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

This means that Russians on average have more money to spend on leisure pursuits. So a sport like poker stands to become a major past time of the Russian people.

Now, if only the American authorities would show such an enlightened view of everyone's favorite card game.

Poker Is a Sport - Russian Federation Recognizes Poker - Gambling Laws Could Be Affected