Last Updated: Tuesday, 19 December 2023 16:09
Casinos in Russia in 2024
Nowadays there is a problematic situation regarding online casinos in Russia. Nationwide, online casinos are banned, and it is forbidden to organise gambling on the territory of the Russian Federation. However, even if physically place was authorised for the server of online establishments in gambling zones, then we are faced with another problem: there is no official protocol to open a legal online casino in Russia. In March 2016 a law was drafted proposing the return of the gambling business on the territory of the Russian Federation. Will, there be changes in the lotteries law approved by Russia or not, it is anyone's guess. It is very likely that the hole in the budget makes the authorities look for additional sources of funding. But what will happen, it’s up to be seen.
Law banning casinos in Russia
When we're online casinos banned in Russia? The official law prohibiting gambling in the territory of Russia was introduced on July 1, 2009. The document was titled "On state regulation of the activities of the organisation and conduct of gaming and amending some legislative acts of the Russian Federation." The 2-d of November 2015 Roskomnadzor, the Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom and Genprokurutare Russia didn’t need to wait for a court decision to block unlicensed sites (read more about the increase in the number of blocked online casino sites by Roskomnadzor in November-December 2015).
Law № 244-FZ (as amended in January 2016)
- When receiving a big win, you have to prove your identity by presenting a passport or other document.
- 90% - this is the lowest threshold of the return rates of slot machines in Russia.
- Gambling operators must keep records of the bets made by players, including through the Internet (also applies to the owners of bookmakers). The online casinos in Russia are still banned, and gambling can only be practised in specially designated gaming zones.
- At the request of tax authorities, gaming operators are obliged to provide information about the winnings of their guests.
- If you ever happen to enter into a legal land-based casino, you can see whether it adheres to the industry standards. In other words, the gambling area mustn’t be less than 800 square meters, and it should feature no less than ten gaming tables.
- Look at the video arcade: there must be at least fifty games aligned in symmetrical rows and located on one hundred square meters or longer if the owners care about their guests.
- If you suddenly come across a gaming table or a slot machine at a bookmaker, know that the owners of the establishment may fall under article 171.2 of the Criminal Code, and this can lead to a fine of up to half a million rubles or a prison term of up to four years. Since the amendments in January 2015, organising such games by sports betting operators is considered a breakage in law regardless of the size of the revenue generated by the operator.
- Getting huge incomes from illegal gaming activities (six million) slaps the operator a fine of up to a million Russian rubles or imprisonment of up to six years.
- In all these cases, according to the online casino law, all gaming equipment will be confiscated.
Legal gambling
Today in Russia there are legal gambling zones in the Kaliningrad Region (“Amber"), Altai (“Siberian Coin"), and the Primorsky regions (“Primorje") and on the border of the Rostov Region and Krasnodar Territory (“Azov-City"). To date, there are three legal online casinos in the Russian gambling zones: "Oracle" and "Nirvana" (in Azov-City) and Altai Palace (in the area called Siberian coin). For each of them you can find detailed information on the individual pages of our website:
- The first legal casino "Oracle" in the gambling zone Azov-City
- Altai Palace in the gambling zone "Siberian Coin."
- Gambling House "Nirvana" in the Azov-City
Is it possible to roll back to 2009?
As with every game (pardon the lottery) machine owners pay a presumptive tax (about 20,000 units per month), their return can provide substantial support for the budget. The bill has already made a few enemies. People opposing it collected more than 80,000 signatures against the law. The most optimistic are wondering when they will be allowed to play legally in a Moscow casino. In my opinion, such arguments are premature. Whether slot machines will return to Russia in April 2016 or not is an open question.
It's not clear which way to go in the future legalisation of gambling in Russia, in the case of the adoption of this bill and how to deal with the already opened legal casinos in the gambling zones. Perhaps the leading powers behind it will come to their senses and finally, come to a consensus on the need for licensing online casinos and receive money in the budget from the virtual space as many other countries did (a vivid example is that in the United Kingdom). Moreover, money can be earned in several ways: firstly from obtaining a license and then from collecting taxes on winnings.
On the other hand, it would be inconvenient for those companies that have won the monopoly of lotteries. Now they want to make it public. With such decisions, there is always a lot of money involved including the personal interests of influential people. In general, the issue of legalisation and regulation of the gambling industry in Russia remains open. Keep abreast. We will update this page with more information, so we recommend bookmarking it. If you want to read more about a few personal experiences in lottery games, click to open the following pages:
- As I was playing a slot machine (instant lottery)
- More information about the changes in the lotteries law in 2016
How to open a legal casino
Today, advertising casinos are prohibited in Russia. Even if you try to advertise your gaming club or you want to use a similar contextual advertising strategy to "Yandex Direct or google ad-words”, then you will be denied because "law prohibits casino advertising in Russia."
To open a casino in Russia today – is to freeze them for an indefinite period without any guarantee that the situation will change. The location of your casino will also change several times. The same will be the situation in Crimea or Sochi. Who would sell a luxury gaming facility? However, as they say, for every product there is a buyer. The algorithm for the opening of legal online casinos in Russia will be developed and published. I'm sure many people want to follow it. Even with the high costs of obtaining a license, eventually, it is worth it and will bring you profit. Learn more about opportunities to start your gaming facility on the next page:
Conclusions
What conclusions can we draw from the above? I can only express the opinion that the gambling situation in Russia is now at crossroads. There is a series of events coming that will change the attitudes towards gambling. I hope that the casino in Russia can be opened legally and impress its visitors with its high-quality service and products. I hope that gambling in Russia will finally be legalised and regulated. You agree that if a casino is prohibited in the authorised areas, there will be deductions in taxes which won’t go into the treasury; therefore, it will be a controversial decision.
Play online with comfort and reliability
As you can see, the evolution of gambling zones has not yet been completed in Russia. While this process is going on, you can play casino games on the Internet. The most reliable and fair gaming destinations are those powered by Net Entertainment. If you want to win a lot of money, and cash out your winnings without any problems, pick one of our recommended NetEnt casinos. European operators make sure that all sensitive data is protected and information about your wins and losses will never be sold or rented to third parties:
Interesting materials
Best online casinos for real money 2024
