According to two persons familiar with a letter Finance Minister Anton Siluanov wrote to President Vladimir Putin, the business newspaper Kommersant reported on Tuesday that the minister has suggested legalizing internet casinos as a means of increasing state revenue.
As the Kremlin searches for new revenue streams to offset the growing expenses of the war against Ukraine, Siluanov proposed easing Russia’s ban on online casinos, which have been prohibited since 2009.
Online gambling has increased in recent years despite the ban. According to the Finance Ministry, the legal betting sector in Russia, which permits authorized bookmakers and totalizators to conduct business online, generated 1.7 trillion rubles ($22.2 billion) in total revenue in 2024.
In comparison, the estimated value of the unlawful internet gambling business is 3 trillion rubles ($39.1 billion), and there are about 100 active illicit sites.
According to Kommersant, Siluanov’s plan would put the business under the control of a single regulator tasked with avoiding gambling addiction and implement a centralized system for tracking bets, akin to the structure used for legitimate bookmakers.
The report stated that more government entities would be entrusted with intensifying their efforts to thwart illicit operations.
In his letter to Putin, Siluanov calculated that the federal budget might receive roughly 100 billion rubles ($1.3 billion) annually if internet casinos were legalized and a monthly tax of at least 30% on gross revenue was imposed.
Whether Putin has reacted to the suggestion or shown support for allowing internet casinos was not made clear in Kommersant’s story.
In recent years, the global online gambling market has grown rapidly, and some researchers have been warning about a commensurate increase in gambling addiction, which they consider to be a major public health concern.
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