Russia has strengthened its pursuit of the illegal online gambling sector by accelerating the timeframe for enforcement action.
Earlier this month, the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, adopted amendments to legislation that have reduced how long it will take for the Federal Tax Service to block websites promoting online gambling.
The Federal Tax Service will now be required to decide within two working days on requests from the Unified Gambling Regulator to identify websites violating Russian law, accelerating the process from the previous timeframe of five days.
Maxim Topilin, Chairman of the Committee on Economic Policy, said on the changes: “It is expected that this step will contribute to a more effective fight against the shadow gambling sector, strengthening trust in state-regulated platforms and improving the overall level of security in the digital space.”
Online casino gaming is prohibited in Russia, while online sports betting is limited to a small number of licensed Russian bookmakers. Despite this, Russia is home to a thriving online casino black market, which is estimated to be worth 3trn roubles (£28.6bn) each year.
According to reports from the Russian news network Kommersant, a proposal was put forward by Finance Minister Anton Siluanov at the beginning of 2026 to legalise online casino.
However, at the time of writing, there has been little update on how the suggestion was received by President Vladimir Putin – who has previously taken an anti-gambling stance.
Siluanov argued that legalisation would allow the government to take advantage of the economic potential of gaming and raise 100bn rubles (£952m) annually by applying a 30% tax on the sector.
Authorities in Russia have made a concerted effort to clamp down on the illegal gambling market through measures such as targeting crypto payment providers that supply the black market.
The State Duma also passed laws mandating a state-run central self-exclusion register, which all operators in Russia must consult when new players sign up to their services.
