The second official Belarus Poker Tour event has ended just a few days ago, with the Belarussian Poker Championship being the preceding evolutionary step. Despite the unstable economic conditions in the country, the series was a success.

Last summer Belarussian championship rose up to a new level: for the first time the series was taking place 11 days in a row. Internationally recognized tournament standard has got accustomed on the Belarussian land and become an official one.

The first official Belorussian Poker Tour has ended with triumph: the new records have been set. The players are happy. The managers are satisfied. However there were some imperfections. But one can say for sure: the format of continuous poker tournament has been adopted easily and will be improved with time.

During the period of time from 31 October to 10 November the doors of the "Victoria Olimp Hotel" located in the capital were opened again for poker players from all over Belarus and neighboring countries. This championship has got a new name, in the manner of European series – Belorussian Poker Tour, a new intelligible schedule and, what is more, organizational issues gave rise to no special complaints.

Just about a year ago poker in the Ukraine was listed as a sport. Clubs are placed all over the country – in Lvov, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Cherkassy and, certainly, Kiev.

History of the Ukrainian industry of gambling is very much similar to the one in Russia. The law which forbids gambling came in force in 2009. It actually made a lot of casinos and slots machine clubs working undercover.

5 years later we can’t say that the situation has changed significantly. Big and little gambling houses are being closed for several times a year. It is a common practice.

With Belarus Sports Poker Championship started actually the whole Belarusian poker. During this time, a whole generation of professional players was born, and nowadays they are playing for their country in the international arena.

In mid-April of 2009 the Belarusian Federation of Sports Poker was created, and just in five days, the 1st Belarus Sports Poker Championship was announced.

It is with this massive tournament, which is still called a national one, that started "live" poker in Belarus.

Gambling in Belarus is thriving, but poker still has an uncertain legal status – it belong neither to sports nor to gambling. Belarus Poker is a trademark, though.

The key point in the development of gambling in Belarus was, curiously enough, the ban on gambling in Russia in the summer of 2009. Many major gaming networks were transferred to Minsk and other cities – to take at least a casino “Shangri-La”.

Another important feature of poker in Belarus – a rigid distinction between tournaments and cash. The latter is only allowed in casinos. Because of this, many refuse to open poker clubs or simply go underground. Because tournaments without cache have a short lifetime. Where is the sense in organizing them if they do not bring tangible income?