Russia’s online sports betting operators have received a temporary reprieve from proposed regulatory changes, holding out hope that the government will come to its senses while the sector is still viable.
Tuesday (22) was the scheduled deadline for Russian legislators to submit amendments to Bill No. 1055657-7, the controversial new legislation that aims to (a) dramatically hike Russian bookmakers’ contributions to local sports, (b) eliminate two betting industry associations, (c) create a new Unified Gambling Regulator and (d) establish a single hub for online betting payments.
However, on Monday the Rossiyskaya Gazeta revealed that that the Ministry of Finance – to which the new unified regulator will report – had proposed extending the amendment deadline until January 22. So Russian bookies will at least get to enjoy the status quo until well after Orthodox Christmas (January 7).
The bill was approved in its first reading earlier this month, but the Ministry is reportedly responding to concerns from both the betting industry and some government deputies that the significant upheaval proposed in the bill requires more stakeholder input before proceeding further.
Betting licensees are reluctant to hand control of any single payment hub to a private operator, which they fear will take advantage of its monopoly to dramatically hike processing fees. Some bookmakers are suggesting that if there is to be a lone payment hub, it should be run by a state bank, which might show a little more restraint in bleeding the betting sector.
Smaller operators also fear that the changes will only solidify larger operators’ already tight grip on Russia’s betting market, a fear that contributed to VulkanBet’s recent decision to suspend its Russian-licensed operations.
While Vulkanbet heads for the exits, 888.ru – no relation to the UK-listed 888 Holdings – recently relaunched its operations after shutting down in March. The operator claimed at the time that the pandemic-related halt of major sports made it unfeasible to carry on as normal.
888.ru reportedly used the downtime to improve its platform, adding “a completely new level of reliability, convenience and speed.” The site’s Android betting app has been similarly upgraded, while the new iOS app will arrive in Russia’s App Store in January.
MORE PAYMENT HEADACHES COMING
Russia’s efforts to prevent its citizens from gambling with internationally licensed sites will get a further boost in January as Russia’s Central Bank will require electronic wallets to submit information on customers opening and closing accounts or otherwise changing account details.
The changes, which officially take effect on January 6, affect users of YuMoney, Qiwi Wallet and WebMoney, among others, whose e-wallet activities will now be forwarded to the Federal Tax Service. The changes were approved back in April but it’s taken this long for the Central Bank to prepare its systems to accept the new data stream.
Earlier this month, Qiwi Bank was prohibited from handling electronic payments for foreign merchants following a Central Bank audit. It’s still unclear what type of transactions provoked this decision, but Qiwi had a reputation as a key processor for international gambling sites.
