The scale of Russia’s illegal market is prompting authorities to consider lifting the existing ban on online casinos.
Speaking at a forum held by Russia’s gambling regulator, Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov said the government needs to assess the prospects of legalising online casinos or decide whether to maintain the current ban.
According to Chebeskov, the size of the illegal market is already comparable to the legal sports betting sector, which generates around 100bn roubles (approximately $1.17bn) in tax revenue for the state budget each year. This situation is prompting authorities to reconsider their approach to tackling the growing popularity of online gambling.
As reported by Finmarket, Chebeskov said at the forum: “First and foremost, we are concerned about the shadow online casino sector, which is already comparable in size to the legal betting market.
“Citizens are completely unprotected there. They are being deceived, and it is clear that we receive no money for sport, no tax revenue — we receive nothing.”
Including sports betting, Russia’s illegal market is estimated to be worth 3trn roubles (around $35.1bn) annually. According to data from analytics firm Blask, unregulated platforms 1Win and Dragon Money rank second and third in terms of market share, behind licensed operator Fonbet.
Earlier this year, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov proposed legalising online casinos. In his view, introducing a 30% tax on the sector could generate budget revenues comparable to those from the sports betting market.
At the time of publication, however, the official position of President Vladimir Putin on the issue remains unclear. He has previously taken an anti-gambling stance.
Chebeskov’s proposal to expand the legal sector has received support from bookmakers. Forum participants reported that the number of people placing bets has fallen by almost 500,000, while the number of active players has declined by approximately 100,000.
Industry representatives attributed the trend to reduced advertising and marketing spending following changes to taxation, players switching to illegal websites and online casinos, as well as mobile internet restrictions.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our Telegram channel!
