Russia bans bookmakers from paying winnings directly to bank cards

The President of the Russian Federation has signed a law that stops bookmakers from paying winnings directly to a bank card. For payment providers, the important part is simple: payout routing in Russian betting just got a new constraint, and that usually means more friction, more checks, and more room for payments teams to get creative in ways compliance teams hate.

1. The law was signed by the President of the Russian Federation, according to bookmaker-ratings.ru.
2. Its core change is straightforward: bookmakers can no longer pay winnings directly to a card.
3. For PSPs, acquirers, and banks working with betting merchants, this affects payout flows rather than just acceptance. When a cash-out path is removed, merchants have to redirect funds through other rails, and that can change settlement logic, reconciliation, and customer support load.
4. The source does not give the law’s effective date, scope details, or any implementation guidance, so those pieces remain unspecified here.