Russia is not alone in attempting to put a stranglehold on any type of gambling that exists. The ingenious plans that the Moscow government has already rolled out include all land-based casinos being banished to zones that are so remote they may as well be on the moon and their interior ministry making the UIGEA look like a plain piece of paper.
The last part, and ensuing crackdown on online gambling, has claimed its first casualty after the Russian Interior Ministry, or “K”, reported that Russia’s largest online casino has been shut down.
Sostav.ru states that five people have been arrested for running the Microgaming powered Goldfishka casino, headed by a 33-year-old man who allegedly organized the casino on foreign servers some ten years ago. The perpetrators face as many as five years in jail and it’s likely to send out a clear message to anyone else who might want to give it a try – you’ll end up banged up in the gulag.
According to the story, the site had an estimated daily profit of 200,000 rubles ($7,000) and amongst the items seized were computer equipment and 27 million rubles in cash. Just think how much premium Russian vodka you could get for that many rubles. I can already hear the livers of the world crying out for help!
So anyone that was wondering whether the Russians were being serious about their gambling crackdown now knows that they’re more than true to their word and it wouldn’t be a surprise were the persons involved to receive the maximum jail term.
