The Minister of Finance, Anton Siluanov, raised the issue of legalizing online casinos in Russia, proposing the creation of a special operator to regulate this industry. According to the minister's idea, at least 30% of the casino's income should be deducted to the country's budget. If the head of state, Vladimir Putin, approves this proposal, budget revenues could reach 100 billion rubles.
According to sources at «KommersantЪ», Siluanov, in a letter to Putin, proposed considering lifting the ban on online casinos, subject to a number of conditions. These include the appointment of an online casino operator at the suggestion of the government and the establishment of a betting scheme through the Unified Center for Accounting of Transfers of Bets, similar to bookmakers.
Currently online casinos are prohibited in Russia, and only bookmakers and sweepstakes can legally conduct gambling on the Internet. The Ministry of Finance estimates the annual volume of this legal market at 1.7 trillion rubles, while the illegal segment is more than 3 trillion rubles with many active shadow online casinos.
Currently, playing in a casino is legally possible only in specialized gambling zones: «Krasnaya Polyana» (Sochi), «Yantarnaya» (Kaliningrad Region), «Primorye» (Primorsky Krai), «Siberian Coin» (Altai Krai) and «Golden Beach» (Crimea).
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