After 15 years of banning online casinos, Russia is considering a policy change that would introduce a regulated digital betting market under direct state control.
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has asked President Vladimir Putin to review a proposal that would legalize online gambling through a single authorized operator.
According to the plan, the operator will transfer “at least 30% of income after profits” to the government every month. The model could add about $1.3 billion to the federal budget annually.
Online gambling has been illegal in Russia since 2009. Despite the ban, the Moscow Times reported that the underground online market generates about $39.5 billion in annual turnover.
Vasily Riy, executive director of the Association for the Protection of the Rights of Gambling and Lottery Participants said:
Legalisation … is one of the tools to counteract the illegal market, but not the only one. Legalisation in many countries in various forms shows that, in the absence of proper state control, the effect can be the opposite.
Russia currently allows gambling through casinos only in a small number of specific zones, including the Primorye Territory near Vladivostok, where Tigre de Cristal and Shambhala are located.
