11.3.2016, 11:02 | Autor: HighStakesdb.com |
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doporučit článekRussia looks set to legalise “skill game” poker
Earlier this week, major domestic betting brand Liga Stavok announced that it had become the first company ever to secure an official betting license in Russia, sparking rumours that the nation is finally on the cusp of legalising online gaming – including poker.
Despite poker currently being classed as illegal in Russia, an estimated 20% of the country’s adult population enjoy playing the game, and in turn make up some 8.4% of online poker industry leader PokerStars’ total player pool.
“Concerning online poker and its legalisation in Russia, it should be legalised; too many people are involved and are playing online”, stated Russian business mogul and head of the World Chess Federation, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who is said to have great influence in the Kremlin.
“There are no reasons that it should be hidden and illegal. I’ve prepared my proposals concerning legalisation of online poker in Russia and have presented them to the Russian government. I’m now working together with the government in order to allow online poker to become an intellectual sport in Russia.”
In the same week as Liga Stavok’s announcement, details of a new payment processing system, “TSUPIS”, have also been filtering out.
Expected to launch before the end of March, TSUPIS would record all payments processed by registered gaming sites, ultimately enabling the taxation of Russia-based players; a move that would be worth billions annually to the government, which hopes to use the funds to help subsidise its chess federation along with children’s sports.
In other recent poker news emanating out of mainland Europe, a high court in the Netherlands has ruled that poker, on the premise that players cannot control the cards they’re dealt each hand, should be considered a game of chance over skill.
This latest ruling was delivered in spite of the fact that lower courts have twice (in both 2010 and 2014) sided with poker players that the game is skill-based, and that Dutch professionals are required to pay tax on their earnings.
As a result, it appears as though it is now illegal for Netherlanders to host poker games because they “amount to gambling”.
Source: Highstakesdb.com
