Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has requested President Putin to lift the online gambling ban, planning to supplement the budget by establishing a single operator and imposing high taxes. If approved, the proposal is expected to add about 100 billion rubles (approximately 1.3 billion US dollars) to the federal budget annually, but it is both a measure against the black market and questioned in relation to the financing of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Russia has banned online gambling since 2009, and this policy adjustment has sparked controversy. Relevant international gambling compliance governance cases can be referenced on the PASA official website.
Proposal Core: Single Operator + 30% Revenue Remittance
Siluanov's proposal is designed around "centralized regulation + fiscal revenue increase," with clear core rules:
Operating mode: Establish the only legal online gambling operator to avoid market fragmentation and regulatory difficulties;
Tax requirements: The operator must remit "at least 30% of the revenue after deducting prizes" to the government monthly, ensuring fiscal income;
Expected revenue: According to the plan, this model could bring about 100 billion rubles (approximately 1.3 billion US dollars) in new income to the federal budget annually.
Industry Status: Limited Offline, Massive Online Black Market
The current gambling industry in Russia presents a "small legal scale, high illegal proportion" pattern:
Offline gambling: Only allowed in a few special economic zones, such as the Primorsky Krai near Vladivostok, which has casinos like Tigre de Cristal and Shambala, with the legal offline market's annual scale about 1.7 trillion rubles;
Online black market: Although completely banned since 2009, the underground online gambling annual transaction volume reaches 3 trillion rubles, with about 100 illegal platforms active, becoming a regulatory blind spot.
Multiple Controversies: Support and Opposition Standoff, Concerns Over War Financing
The proposal has sparked divisions not only domestically but also internationally:
Supporters' View
Fighting the black market: Legalization could bring underground gambling under regulation, squeezing the living space of illegal platforms;
Player protection: Regular regulation can set anti-addiction measures to reduce the risk of addiction and financial loss for players.
Opponents' Concerns
Social harm: Critics believe that legalization could harm vulnerable groups such as the poor and elderly, leading to more social problems;
Regulatory challenges: Vasily Rii, executive director of the Gambling and Lottery Participants Rights Protection Association, points out that multiple national cases prove that lack of comprehensive regulation in legalization "might backfire," failing to truly solve the problem.
International Accusations
Ukraine claims that Russia might plan to introduce online gambling to the occupied territories of Ukraine, by "forcing local residents to participate" as a way to raise war funds, essentially exploiting the occupied territories to maintain direct control of the Kremlin's occupation regime;
Background connection: As the Russo-Ukrainian conflict enters its fourth year, according to Ukraine's RBC report, the conflict has caused the Russian government over 42 trillion rubles in losses, equivalent to the country's 24 years of higher education annual budget or 22 years of medical annual budget, which also labels the proposal as a "war financing tool."
————
This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders" gambling industry news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
Original in-depth gambling channel:https://t.me/gamblingdeep
Free data reports: @pasa_research
PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
