Russia’s parliament has moved to enhance safer gambling measures in the country by passing a law to mandate a central self-exclusion register for players.
State Duma deputies approved the law in its second and third readings, and it will now come into force on 1 September 2026.
As with similar centralised systems used around the world, Russian citizens will be able to submit an application to the Unified Gambling Regulator (ERAI) requesting to be blocked from participating in gambling activities.
Consequently, operators will be prohibited from accepting bets from individuals on the register and sending them gambling advertisements. Gambling establishments must also ensure they prevent such individuals from entering their venues.
Players will be unable to withdraw their application once started, and they can only be removed after the specified period of exclusion has expired. Individuals can submit an application to be removed before the self-exclusion period ends, however, this can only be done one year after being added to the register.
Black market trepidation
While this measure targets players within Russia’s regulated market, concerns have been raised over the significant presence of illicit actors in the Russian market.
Numerous arrests have been made across the country of black market operations, while authorities have intensified action to thwart illegal operators.
As part of these plans, the government has moved to shut down online gambling websites and target supporting services such as crypto payment providers.
Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, has long held an anti-gambling stance, and early on in his premiership, he formed the Russian Civic Chamber, a civil society institution that has now been charged with spearheading these latest efforts.
Evgeny Masharov, a key member of the Russian Civic Chamber, previously emphasised the threat of the black market as it holds the ability to operate with a level of freedom that the regulated market simply doesn’t have.
He told the Russian news outlet TASS: “Gamification has become a trend, while the simplicity and convenience of the game attract new users. The legal market of bookmakers loses to illegals, as the latter do not have requirements for identification and age verification.”
This issue may well be exacerbated further once the self-exclusion register is established, as there are plenty of instances worldwide of illicit operators specifically marketing to players who have blocked themselves from the regulated sector.
