A federal judge in the United States recently made a landmark ruling regarding poker that is sure to pave the way for similar off and online poker judgments nationwide. In December of last year the United States Department of Justice decided to each individual state judicial to decide their online poker destiny. Since then, Delaware and Nevada have both passed online poker legislation, with Delaware allowing for a full slate of online casino wagering. But the judgment by U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein in New York on August 20 sets a precedent, it makes it easier for other national judges to rule similarly regarding the legality of off and online gambling laws in the US.

The argument against allowing US companies to provide online gambling is that it is a proposition entirely contingent on luck. Professional poker players have long argued that poker is definitely a game of skill, unlike casino games like roulette and slots which are entirely driven by chance. Weinstein agreed with that ideology, and in his ruling stated that a New York electronics dealer was not in direct violation of federal gambling laws by operating Texas hold ’em poker games out of his warehouse.

The ruling concerned a physical poker game set up, but can be easily applied to online judgments as well. The ruling announcement was reported by the Wall Street Journal, and was the first time a US federal court directly judged on the status of online poker or brick-and-mortar poker games. Weinstein stated that he believed poker is not predominated by chance, which is generally a common definition used in legal circles when discussing many forms of gambling.

Though the Weinstein ruling is not binding outside of his own judicial district, it fits well with the 2011 US DOJ reversal regarding the legality of online poker. His decision certainly won’t cause a rush of online poker sites to spring up in the United States, since currently only Nevada and Delaware have laid the groundwork for offering online poker play thus far. But with the recent release of the information provided by Global Information Inc. in their 2012 Global Online Gambling and Betting Report, it is simply more fuel being added to the fire which seems to be burning in favor of online poker in the United States.

That report showed that Hollywood generated a respectable $26 billion in worldwide revenue last year, but online wagering and gambling in South America alone was nearly 5 times as powerful, creating an incredible $124 billion in revenue in 2011. When a US federal judge proclaims poker a game of skill instead of chance, the Department of Justice allows individual states to develop their own online poker destiny, and economies around the United States continue to flag, the literally billions of dollars which could be generated by US players enjoying online poker could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back of legalized online poker opposition in the United States.