Russia is well on its way to tighten the regulation of its gambling field as President Vladimir Putin recently inked a new law introducing tougher measures in case of illegal gambling activities taking place. Such practices occurring outside the specifically designed regions which offer gambling would be considered unlawful and therefore liable to considerable sanctions.
According to the information issued, this new regulation would aim to provide the field with the apparatus to apply punishments for individuals and companies trespassing the established rules. The upper chamber of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council approved prison term of as many as 2 years, awaiting individuals which operate a casino venue without the mandatory licensing issued by the authorities. Meanwhile, there are also fines issued which would amount to some RUB500,000 (US$7,950) in addition to the imprisonment.
When it comes to organized groups of people who oversee the management of such illegal ventures, the punitive measures jump to 4 years of prison term, as well as RUB1,000,000 (US$15,900). Such is the case with smaller organized groups of criminals which tend to oversee their illegal casino action in a more informal environment. However, there are also cases in which criminals go so far as to implement the use of a better structure in order to facilitate the process, such as renting larger spaces where they could work disguised as a regular company or a betting shop.
This could result in a prison term of 6 years and some RUB1,500,000. These new regulations aim to provide the field with better protection and minimize the negative impact of illegal gambling on the country in general, and this measure is joined by a crackdown currently in progress. An individual from Vladivostok was recently punished for his illegal gambling operation which was in progress under the cloak of Internet cafe venues. They have been in operation in the Primorsky Krai region since 2012, finally closing for business three years later and for this period of time had generated some RUB400 million (US$6.4 million).
Gambling to be Restricted to Special Zones Only
This is also the amount of money authorities fined the kingpin behind this scheme, essentially sending the message that a crackdown is in progress, striving to eliminate illegal gambling activities across the country. Among the reasons for this move was the fact that the Internet space has been flooded with promotional material involving gambling activities which have appeared there without the legal permit of the court.
Over the span of the first six months of 2018 Curacao-based online casino Azino777 managed to become the most prominent online video advertiser. At the moment the country prohibits both operating and promoting of online casino and sports betting, meaning that the online casino has been conducting such activity in an illegal manner. This resulted in the immediate blacklisting of the said portal and its adjacent mirror websites with the help of the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media.
However, more and more web pages continue to emerge ever since, striving to seek more popularity in the online space. In the meantime, Russia is well-known around the world as one of the competitive locations for gaming thanks to its special gaming zones. One of the rapidly developing regions on a global scale is no other than Primorye Integrated Entertainment Resort which is located in the Far East area of Russia.
This is a special zone which has gambling offerings operating in a regulated manner and players have the chance to put their skills to the test and experience what casino resort there are on offer. Tigre De Cristal is the only one currently in operation with a completed Phase 1, meaning that a Phase 2 of its development is soon to commence. The region is one of the five zones across Russia which allows gambling and the ultimate goal of the authorities is to maintain gambling only within their borders.
With the help of this new regulations this could result in the economic boost, as the revenue generated by the casino resorts would be utilized and reinvested back in the country, instead of sinking into the gray area. The effect of these tightened measures is expected to be seen in the upcoming months, as crackdown progresses.
