Putin Ponders Online Casinos

Russian President Vladimir Putin is considering legalising online casinos to help fund the war effort.

Domestic newspaper The Kommersant revealed that Russian Finance Minister Anton Silianov has pushed the idea as Russia struggles to pay for the conflict with the Ukraine and suffers from ongoing military costs, inflation and global sanctions.

Currently Russia limits gambling to four designated zones: the Primorsky Krai region North of Vladivostock, Krasnaya Polyana in Sochi, Yantamaya in Kaliningrad and Siberian Coin in Alta. Sports betting is already legal, as are State-run lotteries, but online casinos could provide a valuable source of tax revenue. The government could also opt to run its own online casino, in partnership with an existing casino, but simply legalising the sector and collecting tax revenues could be worth up to $1.3 billion (100 billion Rubles) according to Silanov.

Offshore Casinos are Big Business

Illegal gambling with offshore operators is huge business in Russia and many sites are tailored to the Russian market, with full site translations, customer support and players can even visually convert crypto balances to Rubles while playing.  1xBet, Vavada, Pin-Up and Cat Casino are all big in Russia, despite being technically banned.

Silanov has recommended a 30% gambling tax, which is on the high side and yet probably won’t deter major casinos from enterting the territory. Sanctions do complicate the issue, but the Russian gambling market has huge potential and there will be casinos that find a way to offer their services in a legalised market.

Russia is thought to have spent more than $350 billion on the Ukraine war since February 2022, after an invasion that was meant to last just days. Online gambling won’t plug that gap, bt it’s one of many measures the government could employ to keep money coming in to pay for the war effort.