Russia Online Casinos

When it comes to gambling, there are some countries in the world that have a completely negative stance towards it. These countries consider it a dangerous habit, which could harm their citizens, regardless of how good it could be for the revenue. Other countries, even though with negative attitudes towards it, allow it at least to a certain point. Russia is one such country.

Gambling in Russia…

…is allowed in several specific zones, but that’s it. This means that the country is allowing gambling to a certain limit and wants to have the last say when it comes to who can gamble and who cannot within its borders. To get to this point, the country has, however, been through a lot, and the laws on gambling continue changing.

Legal Gambling in Russia

The only zones…

…with legal gambling in Russia previously were Krasnodar Territory, Kaliningrad, Altai Territory and Crimea ed the team. This means that if you’re Russian and you’d like to gamble in your country, these are the only zones you can do that legally. Anyone who gambles outside of the zones is significantly fined.

Russia is not tolerant when it comes to illegal gambling. Illegal establishments, within or outside the zones, are closed right away and their operators punished with fines or prison time. Players are also not treated lightly, so no matter what, make sure to gamble in land-based casinos which have been allowed by the country, and within the legal gambling zones.

Is Online Gambling Legal in Russia?

When it comes to online gambling…

…you may have assumed it, but let’s put it out in the open. Online gambling is completely illegal in Russia. It always has been and from the looks of it, it always will be. The country keeps a close eye on illegal online gambling operations and tries to control the situation the best way it can.

After noticing that illegal offshore operators were targeting its market, Russia implemented some new bans and laws. In fact, in 2006, it prohibited interactive gambling for good. The next year, it enacted the Federal Law on State Regulation of Activities in the Organization and Conduct of Gambling law. The law that banned all forms of gambling within the borders was introduced two years later.

A fine between 500 and 2,000 Russian rubles…

…was imposed on all players who would online William Hills did, reporting that the exit was due to the complex regulatory environment on the market.

Cryptocurrencies were prohibited, too…

…with a bill by the Ministry of Finance, alleging that it Bitcoin was used for illegal activities, including illegal gambling. In 2015, the re-elected President Vladimir Putin further restricted all activates related to online gambling. The first order of business was forbidding Russian banks from processing online gambling transactions, and imposing harsher punishments for operators and players found to be participating in illegal online gambling, with up to four years of prison.

In 2017…

…banks were even required to block payments to and from online gambling sites. The situation was so serious that the government in 2019 considered a new blacklist of financial institutions and banks that continued processing such payments, as requested by the President personally and executed by the Ministry of Finance.

Top 4 Russia Casinos

Key Guidelines to Legal Online Gambling in Russia

Gambling online in Russia can seem like a mission impossible, but that’s not necessarily the case. You see, while the government was implementing these tough restrictions, bans and punishments, online casino players were still finding ways to go over them. They started using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to get access to international online casino sites without using their Russian IP. They avoided being caught by the government for gambling online, although not for long.

The government was onto them…

…in no time, and required VPN providers to block players’ access to online gambling sites. Those providers caught not complying with the regulations, were banned from offering their services in the country by the Federal Security Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

As you can see, a significant amount of effort was put by the government to crack down illegal gambling. Just in 2019, Putin made Google remove online gambling sites from its search platform for the Russian market, and with that, over 130,000 gambling-related domains were blocked.

On the bright side…

…though, you can still find some loopholes, if you dig deeper. Sure, many gambling-related domains have been banned for the Russian market, but certainly not all of them. Should you find a safe gateway to get access to such sites, you can enjoy a pretty seamless online gambling time, believe it or not.

Make sure that the casinos you consider are licensed to operate by respected regulators, such as the Sweden and Gibraltar. That way, even though you’ll be ing a site that is not regulated by your own country, it is regulated by a trusted watchdog that ensures all players are treated with fairness.

As far as payments go…

…even though banks and other financial institutions in the country are not legally allowed to process your online casino payments, you can still find alternative payment methods to deposit and withdraw money across online casinos with, without even involving your bank. eWallets and prepaid cards are an excellent example. Paysafecard are just some of your options. You don’t need a bank to use any of these, so the government would never know you gambled online if you’re using them.

When it comes to games…

…you’ll be able to play, the sky is the limit. As long as you can get access to a legit online casino, you can get access to all kinds of promotions available at the site you ed so that you can get something extra to kick-start your online gambling experience. Have fun!