4 Countries where Poker is still booming

Ever since the beginning of the Poker Boom in 2003, the game has spread rapidly across the world. So by this point, most countries have already gone through their boom period with poker. However, there are still a few places where the game is catching on and attracting millions of new players in the process. That said, let's look at 5 countries where poker is still booming.

1. India

For years poker enthusiasts have been waiting on the game to take off in India. After all, it's the world's second-largest country with 1.25 billion residents, so any kind of interest at all could help the game immensely. And now it appears that this poker boom is finally happening since more Indians are playing than ever before. The Economic Times reports that poker is not only showing up in organized tournaments, but also at Diwali parties and other family functions.

2. Norway

Norway is home to plenty of great poker players, including Annette Obrestad, Johnny Lodden and Thor Hansen. But up until recently, both live and online poker have been outlawed in the country. This looks to be changing, though, since Norway finally held its first poker championships on home soil (previously held in Dublin). 1,973 players turned out for the event, making this the largest non-WSOP tournament in European history. It's all the more amazing when you consider that Norway only has 5.1 million people! So as poker legalization opens up throughout the country, we can expect far more Norwegians to be picking up the game.

3. Georgia

Georgia doesn't seem like it would have a very big poker following based on its smallish population of 4.5 people. However, many Georgians are starting to pick up the game thanks in large part to heavy marketing efforts by Adjarabet. This company wants to make its Tbilisi-based poker room the largest in the world. So they've embarked on a massive campaign that included bringing Dan 'Jungleman' Cates to Georgia, having him appear on a national talk show, and hanging Jungleman banners throughout Tbilisi. The entire effort is helping to make poker a beloved game in this small country.

4. Brazil

Poker popularity has been increasing in Brazil for years. But it seems to be at an all-time high when considering that tournaments are regularly being held in the country. The Brazilian Series of Poker has evolved into one of the biggest events in South America, while there have been some fantastic Latin America Poker Tour events held in the country too. It also doesn't hurt that Brazilian football heroes Neymar and Ronaldo have signed sponsorship deals with PokerStars. The net effect is that more Brazilians are playing live and online poker than ever before.