Hundreds of former casinos have already dumped roulette and brought in poker tables, which are not considered part of the gambling industry.

Dmitry Skryabin – a bank manager by day, a poker player by night – plays twice a week and doesn't mind losing a few hundred dollars a session at glamorous venues.

“I come to play with my friends. It's the atmosphere of a social club that brings me in,” Skryabin says.

The game in Russia also has its first celebrity, after boy wonder Ivan Demidov finished second in the World Series of Poker last year.

“I started with $50. Now I can earn more than $5 million a tournament,” Demidov says.

But not everyone's convinced that poker's about to clean up. The complexity and length of poker games may deter players drawn to the adrenaline rush of black jack and fruit machines.

And the former casinos themselves may find a more profitable use for their space. A card club rakes in three to five times less money than a casino.

To consider that the only revenue they will get from the poker is actually from the commission from the players, and some food and drink. But it's nothing to do with the casino game, and they will find it very difficult to make the kind of money that they used to make.

There is no doubt that poker- already in fashion – is set to grow in the aftermath of the gambling ban.

But those who see it as a like-for-like replacement for casinos – both in profitability and in attendance- would be wise to hedge their bets.