Russia’s finance ministry backs online casino legalization, says it could add 100 billion rubles a year to the budget

Russia is again discussing legalizing online casinos, with the finance ministry arguing that the move could bring in 100 billion rubles a year. For PSPs and acquiring teams, the key point is not the political theater but the mechanism being floated: a regulated operator model, monthly payments to the state, and a likely continuation of payment blocking for the illegal market.

1. The illegal online gambling segment is estimated at 3 trillion rubles, and the finance ministry says it has long been interested in bringing that activity under control. One proposal is to regulate online casinos in a way similar to bookmakers.
2. Under the ministry’s plan, a special operator would be created and all legal online casinos would accept bets through it. That operator would then pay a monthly tax to the budget of no less than 30% of revenue.
3. The ministry says the model already exists in other countries and is studying the issue. At the same time, it continues to support enforcement tools such as blocking payments and websites, which is the awkward part of trying to build a legal market while squeezing the illegal one.
4. Supporters of the proposal point to the bookmaker market as the precedent: bookmakers are said to generate the same 100 billion rubles for the treasury, so casinos should be able to do the same. The argument is straightforward enough for the budget, even if the regulatory architecture is not.
5. The broader line from officials is also familiar: money from offshore operators is flowing either abroad or into criminal channels, while the state misses out on revenue. The article says legalization still appears likely, and that after crypto legalization it would not raise many questions.