Whilst Britain upholds its law that poker is not a game of skill and therefore must only be played for money on premises licensed for gaming, Russia has officially given poker sports status. The decision taken last month has been hailed by poker enthusiasts and tournament organizers as a wise one, placing poker beyond the category of gambling. The President of the Russian Sport Poker Federation, gaming writer Dmitry Lesnoy, had lobbied to get poker classified as a sport, arguing that poker is an intellectual game of skill.

In January a jury in London was swayed by prosecution arguments that shuffling the cards introduced an element of chance into the game of poker. The 1968 Gaming Act makes poker a game of chance and the new Gambling Act 2005 does not alter that position. Found guilty on two counts of charging participation fees and levies on winnings, Gunshot poker club owner Derek Kelly has vowed to continue his fight to have poker reclassified.

Following the landmark ruling in Russia, poker players there can now claim to be sportsmen. It could also mean that poker will continue to be played all over the country after other forms of gambling have been banished to four remote gaming zones from 2009. As yet it is unclear whether the present tax on poker games at casinos will be abolished. There will be many poker players in America and the UK, both on and offline, that will applaud the Russian acceptance of poker as a sport and game of skill. (E-04.11.07)

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