NORTH ASIA 14
RUSSIA
Russia tackles illegal gambling as tax revenue drops Russia is getting serious about cracking down on illegal gambling, which is having a significant impact on the development of the country’s gambling zones and the amount of tax raised for government coffers.
T
he clampdown, both land-based and online, comes almost a decade after Russia restricted all gambling to four designated zones, which were designed to become Las Vegas-style hubs. However, data shows that they are generating far fewer profits than before and illegal activity is one of the key factors. According to the Federal Tax Service, in 2008, some 5,700 gambling tables and 257,000 slot machines existed in Russia. The first brought RUB5.7 billion ($83.7 million) and the second RUB27.7 billion roubles to the state budget.
Asia Gaming Briefings | October 2018
Back then, there were just four totes, which paid some RUB4.3 million in tax and 29 bookmakers, which paid RUB34.2 million. In 2017, the government received a fraction of the prior revenue – just RUB976 million – with commentators pointing out that it’s not an indicator that fewer people gamble, but that they do it illegally. Last year, 255 gambling tables across the country brought to the budget some RUB344.2 million; 2,705 slot machines took in RUB247.8 million, betting shops brought in RUB341.5 million; 33 online bet processing centers
for bookmakers generated RUB33 million. Other tax revenue was generated from betting processing centers and shops for totes. The Russian authorities have been warning about illegal activities for some time. In 2010, an official in Russia’s Krasnodar Region, Pavel Ivakin, said that the abundance of illegal gambling facilities, which masquerade as cyber cafes. would hinder Azov City’s development. He said after the 2009 ban Russia “was swamped by the opening of new illegal gambling facilities.” Since 2009, Russian law-enforcers have
