Poker has surged in popularity over the last decade and it’s not just poker fans who have benefited, with many countries around the world cashing in on the poker boom as well. Some countries such as France, Italy, and Spain have chosen for the government to play a key role in taxing and regulating Internet poker sites, while other countries such as Malta have positioned themselves as a defacto poker guide when it comes to offering licenses for online operators. Still other countries have benefited economically by hosting international poker tournaments that draw thousands of players.

 Poker currently is far from a key contributor to the economy of Nigeria, with a relatively limited number of casinos in the country when compared to other poker hotspots and little online presence as far as Internet casinos and poker rooms. Africa in general has lagged other parts of the world when it comes to embracing poker, although many African countries do enjoy a healthy appetite for gambling in general. South Africa has the largest poker presence on the continent, although the game is popular in Egypt and Morocco as well with Marrakech hosting several large poker tournaments as part of the World Poker Tour.

 Few of the players at the top of the poker online rankings hail from Africa which makes the large online sites hesitant to promote and market the game heavily in the region. While the game has grown in popularity in recent years it hasn’t achieved the same critical mass in Nigeria and other countries to produce any real economic impact. One often overlooked impact is that online poker players still heavily support their local economies, with much of their winnings used to buy local goods and services.

 As far as what the future may hold for poker in Nigeria, that’s always impossible to predict, but there are surprising success stories from other countries that could serve as a model. Malta is one of the best examples of a country heartily seizing on a chance to profit from poker, as the sport contributed nothing to their economy in the past but is now a major source of revenue, with many of the world’s largest online sites registered and operating from Malta. Part of the allure are very favorable tax laws but Malta also positioned itself as a top regulator and grantor of licenses for online gaming. The country now not only collects increased tax dollars but also has thousands of new jobs available in fields such as IT, customer support, and software programming.