Online Gambling Laws in Russia

You'd be forgiven for thinking that Russia's gambling laws make all forms of gambling illegal entirely or permit the running of monopolies. However, the real situation is a little more varied than that. Read on for full details of Russia's current legal stance regarding the various offline and online gambling activities.

Gambling Regulation by Casino Type

To sum up, the legal situation in Russia pertains to gambling; most gambling activities in the country are illegal or restricted, except sports betting, which is widely available offline and online. Let's delve a bit further into the details of Russia's gambling regulations according to each activity:

Casino Games

Casino gambling at land-based establishments has been legal in Russia since 1987. However, operators must obtain a licence from the Ministry of Finance, and their operations must be based within one of the special gaming zones in the country, of which there are currently five.

Online casino gambling is illegal in Russia, with no licences available to either domestic or overseas operators. The state-owned media authority Roskomnadzor is tasked with blocking overseas online casinos, and players caught betting at such sites face a small fine. However, this does little to stop players from enjoying some of the industry's best online slots at these foreign casinos.

Poker

Offline poker gaming has been legal in Russia since 1987 and is usually offered at existing land-based casinos. Standalone poker venues do not exist in Russia. Poker is restricted to casinos because of the country's view that the game is one of chance rather than skill, like casino games. However, many have pointed out that multiplayer poker (e.g. cash games and tournaments) is more about skill than chance and should be regarded as such, but currently, to no avail.

Online poker is illegal in Russia, with Roskomnadzor blocking access to offshore sites offering poker gaming. However, players tend to have little trouble bypassing these ISP blocks.

Bingo

Both land-based and online bingo are legal in Russia. Games are operated at various Bingo Boom bingo halls across the country and online on a monopoly basis by the state-contracted company Stoloto. As the name suggests, bingo is classed as a type of lottery in Russia, so it is treated differently than other gambling forms.

The government discourages any other offline or online bingo activity, but players still access various bingo casinos online for their gaming entertainment.

Lotteries

Lotteries are also legal in Russia but are under monopoly operation. Stoloto is the sole operator of lottery games in Russia, including draws, scratch cards, keno and instant games. The Ministry of Finance distributes funds from lottery games to efforts that increase the country's physical activity, such as professional sports, sporting equipment at schools and gyms, and sporting events.

Playing online lottery games for real money via offshore lottery sites is illegal in Russia. Still, the blocking of lottery sites by Roskomnadzor is not as common as for foreign casino operator sites.

Social Casinos and Crypto Casinos

Increasingly popular forms of gambling, such as loot boxes and skins gambling, are not included in online gambling Russia regulation, so players can freely participate in such activities. Similarly, no legislation specifically mentions social gambling, such as free or social online casinos, even those that offer the option to buy chips with real money.

Russia Sports Betting Laws

Sports betting is one of the big exceptions to Russia's gambling laws. Both land-based and online sports betting is legal in the country. Land-based sports betting has been legal in Russia since 1987. Sports betting shops and totalisators are scattered throughout Russia, with operators required to obtain a licence from the Ministry of Finance. Unlike other countries, Russia awards licences to multiple operators rather than running a monopoly on sports betting.

Online sports betting was legalized in Russia in 2016 and operates on a licence basis, with online licences awarded by the Federal Tax Service. Both domestic and foreign sites can apply for a licence, with more than 30 companies currently holding a valid licence to operate in the country. Players may face fines for betting on sports via unlicensed sites.

Fantasy and virtual sports are not mentioned specifically in Russia's gambling legislature. Similarly, Bitcoin esports betting and other cryptocurrency-based gambling forms are not specified in current legislation. Russia's stance on cryptocurrencies is one of suspicion, even though popular coins such as Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ether are legal in the country.

Gambling Age Restriction

In Russia, entry to land-based casinos and other gambling venues, as well as the ability to bet on sports or other gambling opportunities, is restricted to those aged 18 and over.

Tax Regulation

Russia's gambling tax regulation dictates that gambling operators pay taxes based on how many games they offer (for land-based venues), how many betting machines they operate (in the case of bookmakers) or simply which licence they have (for online gambling operators). Taxes can thus vary from 3,000 to 15,000 RUB per electronic gambling machine to 2.5 million to 3 million RUB for an online gambling licensed operator.

Russian gamblers fare much better in terms of taxes. Winnings obtained from licensed online operators or via the country's lottery are exempt from tax. All other gambling activity winnings are taxed at 13%.

History of Gambling Laws in Russia

Before the formation of the USSR in 1922, gambling was little more than a luxuriant pastime for the upper classes and the rich. During Russia's communist period, gambling was almost entirely illegal, apart from the national lottery and a few sportsbooks. After the fall of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s to early 1990s, gambling was substantially unregulated, with the sector serving as a major source of revenue for the country, which was overhauling its entire economic system to a free market.

The first legal casino in Russia appeared in 1989; by 1994, that number had exploded to 496 gambling establishments. However, it's estimated that twice as many establishments were operating illegally, only 1 in 3 had a licence, and most operators consistently avoided taxes. In 1998, laws were updated to prevent tax evasion and clean up the industry, increasing revenue and less crime.

In 2002, local governments were stripped of the right to issue gambling licences, with the responsibility given instead to the Federal Sports Agency to clean up organized crime. The FSA gave out licences for just $100, with 6,300 venues operating under licence between 2002 and 2005.

Despite these efforts, scandals in the sector were still rampant. The government introduced federal law N 244-FZ on December 29, 2006, which made casino gambling venues illegal everywhere in Russia except for the special gaming zones.

The new laws also tackled online gambling, which was banned outright. Illegal online gambling became rampant in the country as a result, with Russians ignoring continued warnings by the government not to gamble at unlicensed sites. In 2016, the government amended federal law 244, making some forms of online gambling legal.

Key Facts

The main points to remember about gambling laws in Russia are that:

• Land-based casino gaming and poker gaming are only legal at licensed venues in one of the special gaming zones in the country.

• Online casinos, live casinos and poker sites are illegal.

• Bingo and lottery games are legal, but only via Stoloto, which holds a monopoly.

• Sports betting is legal offline and online, but only via licensed operators.