A legalised Russian online poker industry could have benefits for other national sports including chess, reports the Global Poker Index, quoting Russian business mogul Vasily Anisimov, who leads an association of Russian state lotteries.
Anisimov says that substantial amounts of money could be generated which could in part be used to fund other Russian sports activities.
The GPI notes that earlier this summer, Russian president Vladimir Putin directed that a study be launched of ways in which state-run lotteries, including possibly sports betting, could be better monetised with the goal of generating more financial support for national sports entities.
Anisimov is hoping that the results of the study encourage government to move on the legalisation issue, opening up a new and exciting market in Russia.