Due to the ongoing financial crisis in Russia, many industry analysts believe that now more than ever online poker could become legalized and regulated in the country.
It is estimated that as many as 20 percent of Russia's population of 144 million is playing poker on the Internet and contributing a huge amount of liquidity to online poker rooms. Former British MP and International Business Times contributor Paul Keetch reported that 8.4 percent of the PokerStars customer base is from Russia, according to data from the world's largest poker room.