Gambling Legislation
Pursuant to the acting legislation in Russia, virtually all types of gambling are allowed in the gaming zones. They include: games of chance - casino games, slot machines and lotteries and betting - bookmakers and sports betting points of sale. The legislative basis that regulates interaction within Russia's gambling industry contains legislative acts that are adopted at the federal level and regional regulatory acts that apply to the territories of the gambling zones. Federal regulatory acts include:
- The Civil Code
- The Tax Code
- The Customs Code
- Federal Law On the State Regulation of the Activities Involving the Organisation of and Carrying On Gambling and On Introduction of Amendments to Certain Legislative Instruments of the Russian Federation, dated 29.12.06
- Federal Law about Lotteries, dated 11.11.03
- Federal Law On Licensing Specific Types of Activity, dated 04.05.11
- Federal Law On Self-Regulatory Organisations, dated 01.12.07
- Federal Law on Combating Legalisation (Laundering) of Proceeds from Crime and Financing of Terrorism, dated 07.08.01
- Government Resolution On Organization of Licensing of Certain Types of Activity, dated 21.11.11
- Government Resolution On Licensing of Organisation and Conduct of Gambling Activities in Betting Offices or Totalisators No. 1625, dated 08.10.20 (in force since 1 January 2021, replacing the resolution of 26.12.11)
- Federal Law On the Public-Law Company "Unified Gambling Regulator" No. 493-FZ, dated 30.12.20
- Federal Law No. 425-FZ, dated 28.11.25, which moved the gambling tax into a new chapter 25.5 of the Tax Code from 1 January 2026
- Federal Law No. 575-FZ, dated 29.12.25, on voluntary self-exclusion from gambling (in force since 1 September 2026)
- Technical regulations that establish the requirements for admitting various types of equipment
Regional regulatory acts regulate the organisers of gambling entertainment in authorised areas and deal with specific infrastructural issues such as renting of land for organisers of games, regional supervision, etc. Pursuant to the legislation, payback threshold on all gaming machines must be 90%. And payouts of large prizes will only be made once a player's identity is verified with an appropriate document. Players must be at least 18 years old. The Russian Federation has a general ban on online gambling. Yet at the same time the legislation allows interactive bets with a player's personal funds as an exception. These bets are handed over to the organiser of gambling games using electronic payment systems that were specifically set up by the Centre of Tracking the Interactive Bet Transactions. Since October 2021 there has been a single such centre (the Unified CUPIS) instead of the two that operated before. Legal regulation of the gambling industry is conventionally subdivided into two groups of standards that relate to: organisation of gambling games among bookmakers and sports betting concession operations on organising and providing gambling entertainment in a gaming zone (casinos, arcade halls, gambling establishments, etc.) Any gaming facility can be opened in the territory of the gaming zone exclusively. Yet the activities on organising and running gambling games among bookmakers or sports betting offices can be conducted outside of the gaming zone.
Regulators
The overall regulation of gambling in Russia is carried out by the State. The Ministry of Finance is the authorised government body that develops the policies and regulatory acts in the area of gambling. Federal Tax Service is the overseeing authority that issues licenses to bookmakers. Since 2021 the public-law company Unified Gambling Regulator (ERAI), created under Federal Law No. 493-FZ of 30.12.2020, has taken over the functions of the former self-regulatory organisations of bookmakers, collects bookmakers' targeted contributions for the funding of sport and, since 1 September 2026, keeps the register of people who have excluded themselves from gambling. State supervision in the area of gambling entertainment is carried out by the authorised federal executive body (Federal State Supervision) and executive authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation.Permits for organising and conducting all types of gambling in a gaming zone are issued by the government body of the zone, such as: in the Primorskaya gaming zone - by the authorities of Primorsky Territory, Yantarnaya - by the authorities of Kaliningrad Region, Sibirskaya Moneta - by the authorities of Altai Region and Krasnaya Polyana - by the authorities of Krasnodar Territory (for Azov City this was the Department of Property Relations of Krasnodar Territory). Permits for running lotteries are issued by the Government of the Russian Federation, and the organisers are: Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The Federal Tax Service is the supervisory authority of lotteries. This service is authorised to press administrative charges against any inappropriate games and organisers of lotteries. Administrative violations can also be prosecuted by the district attorney's office or the police. In cases when organisation of gambling entertainment or lotteries is a criminal offence, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation takes over the investigation. Gambling and lotteries that are provided on the Internet illegally are blocked by the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor). This is done by an order of an authorised supervisory agency or by a court order.
Gambling Licenses
These are the types of licenses available in Russia: betting - organising and running a bookmaking business (except for the ones opened within a gaming zone) can be carried out only in compliance with the license issued by the Federal Tax Service. This license will cover both bookmaking and sports betting and gambling games conducted in gaming zones - games and wagers in the territories of gaming zones in the Russian Federation can only be conducted with the permission from the regional authority that monitors the operations within that zone. There is only one permit issued for each legal entity to conduct the events related to organising or running gambling games in the gaming zone. Bookmaking can only be organised by legal entities registered on the territory of the Russian Federation. Neither the State nor the Government can act as founders or organisers of gambling games. The exception is the joint-stock company created from a Presidential Order that unites all horse racetracks in Russia. These are the requirements to an organiser of a bookmaking business:
- Until 1 September 2021 the organiser had to be a member of a Self-Regulatory Organisation of Bookmakers; this requirement was abolished when the Unified Gambling Regulator took over its functions
- To have an authorized capital of at least 100 million RUB
- To have the value of net assets of no less than 1 billion RUB throughout the entire period of bookmaking operations
- To insure its liability to players with a bank guarantee (no less than 500 million RUB, with the term of validity of no less than five years)
- To have all equipment necessary to record bets, receive and process interactive bets and settle up with the suppliers of prizes
- No people with a track record of financial crimes of medium gravity or serious crimes must be allowed among the organiser's stockholders
To obtain a license to organise bookmaking outside of gaming zones, an appropriate application and a number of documents must be submitted to Federal Tax Service:
- The document that lists all the information about the applicant's employees with copies of their passports and workbooks attached
- Calculation of values of the applicant's net assets done as indicated by the Ministry of Finance
- Local plans (for each address of a gaming establishment) with mandatory indication of the service area, placement of the processing centre and the bookmaker's ticket office
- Copies of documents that verify that the applicant's business has the staff that would provide personal security for players, fellow employees and other visitors to the establishment during their stay inside the gaming facility. Or a copy of a contract with a private security company must be attached
- A statement concerning the amount and the origin of funds that were used as the authorised capital
Since 1 January 2021 the licensing procedure has been set by Government Resolution No. 1625 of 08.10.2020. The term of validity of the license is unlimited, and a state fee is charged for issuing it. On the whole, the same requirements apply to the organiser of gambling games (casinos and gambling halls) as to bookmakers and sports betting offices. The law, however, has certain provisions. For example, the value of net assets in this particular case must be no less that 600 million RUB.
Permit for gambling entertainment in gaming zones
Permit to organise and conduct gambling games in a gaming zone is issued by a governing body of this zone through an auction or a contest. This permit is usually issued for an indefinite period of time, i.e. until the gaming zone is liquidated. The decision, however, may be overruled by a governing body in the following cases:
- Liquidation of a legal entity that is the organiser of gambling entertainment
- Failure to comply with the requirements set by law
- Repeated violations of the order to submit information or revealed facts about the inauthenticity of this information
- Violation of the procedures of organising and conducting gambling games
- If the organiser personally applied for the annulment
- If no organising or conducting of gambling games were carried out for the period of 3 years since the permit was issued
Licensed varieties of gambling
Each gaming zone in the Russian Federation contains several casinos and halls with slot machines. Each of them features a wide selection of gambling entertainment. Virtually all kinds of gambling is allowed in Russian casinos, such as: American and European roulette, poker, Blackjack, baccarat, bingo, slot machines, gaming terminals, sports betting, including betting on horse races and lotteries, etc Slot machines have been most popular among the Russians. Any Russian casino has at least 100 slot machines, and some establishments have had more than 750 (like Shambala casino in Azov City before the zone was closed).
Taxes
Until the end of 2025 gambling tax was one of the varieties of regional tax. Proceeds from this tax were a crucial source of income for the budgets of the appropriate subjects of the Russian Federation. Basic provisions concerning the taxation of the gambling industry are recorded in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The tax rate was set by local laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation within the boundaries outlined by the Tax Code. From 1 January 2018 (Federal Law No. 354-FZ of 27.11.2017) these boundaries were doubled and stood at the following monthly amounts:
- 1 gaming table - 50 to 250 thousand RUB
- 1 slot machine - 3 to 15 thousand RUB
- 1 totalisator processing centre - 50 to 250 thousand RUB
- 1 bookmaking processing centre - 50 to 250 thousand RUB
- 1 totalisator point of sale - 10 to 14 thousand RUB
- 1 bookmaking point of sale - 10 to 14 thousand RUB
- 1 processing centre accepting interactive bets - 2.5 to 3 million RUB
Gambling tax, or rather the amount that has to be paid into the budget of the Russian Federation, is determined by the payer. For casinos and slot halls the total number of registered gaming tables and slot machines is taken into account. Once the government learned that the gambling industry did not bring as much profit as was expected, it decided to make changes to the tactics of regulating the gambling industry. In January 2017 the Ministry of Finance submitted a draft amendment to the Tax Code proposing to double the tax rates, and the doubled rates took effect in 2018. Federal Law No. 425-FZ of 28.11.2025 went further: from 1 January 2026 gambling tax is a federal tax under the new chapter 25.5 of the Tax Code, with uniform rates across the country - 250,000 RUB per month for a gaming table and 15,000 RUB for a slot machine. Bookmakers and totalisators no longer pay per processing centre or point of sale; they pay 7% of their revenue minus the winnings paid out, and they also became subject to the 25% corporate profit tax. The tax must be paid no later than the 28th day of the month following the tax period. Current rules are published by the Federal Tax Service.
Online gambling in Russia
Online gambling is outlawed in Russia. But its forms that imply interactive bets (online betting and bookmaking with licensed operators) are allowed; online casinos, slots and poker rooms have no legal status. The largest legal online operators are therefore licensed bookmakers, such as Fonbet, Winline, Liga Stavok, Betcity and BetBoom. Ban on online versions of classical slots does not get in the way of the Russian citizens to play in various offshore online casinos, poker rooms, etc. Sure, Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications blocks banned websites regularly, and yet new ones spring up in their place immediately. Since 2018 (Federal Law No. 227-FZ of 29.07.2018) organising gambling via the Internet has been a criminal offence under Article 171.2 of the Criminal Code, punishable by fines and, in serious cases, imprisonment. According to a 2025 market study by the sports media outlet Rating Bookmakers, legal bookmakers earned 401.7 billion RUB in gross gaming revenue in 2025, while illegal online casinos were estimated at about 418.8 billion RUB. Since 1 September 2026 players can also exclude themselves from all legal gambling for at least 12 months by applying via the Gosuslugi portal or a multifunctional centre (Federal Law No. 575-FZ of 29.12.2025).
Slot machines frequently played in Russia
Just like in many other European countries, products by Greentube, Igrosoft, Pragmatic Play etc. are popular in Russia as well. Classic Igrosoft titles such as Crazy Monkey, Resident, Fruit Cocktail, Lucky Haunter and Garage are still among the most played slots by Russian-speaking players, together with Book of Ra and Lucky Lady's Charm Deluxe by Greentube. Newer favourites include Ice Princess and Mummyland Treasures by Belatra, Billyonaire by Amatic and Pragmatic Play hits such as Sweet Bonanza 1000 and Gates of Olympus.
Development of the Gambling Market in Russia
Russia has several developers of gaming software products that are known worldwide. They include: GloboTech - the company that has about 700 different games. All of the games are aimed at Russian speakers. Graphics could use some improvement, but this is offset by the captivating storylines and frequent payouts. These are the most significant slots: Fruits of Ra, Lucky Pirates and SkyWay and Igrosoft is a company that produces slot machines that feature interesting themes aimed at the Russian mentality, which also pay frequent bonuses. Crazy Monkey is the developer's most popular slot. These are some slots that are popular as well: Rock Climber, Island 2, Fruit Cocktail and Garage.
Prospects for future development of gambling in Russia
The gambling industry in Russia is strictly regulated by legislation, which serves as an excuse for many representatives of this business to claim that the industry is factually illegal. This, however, is not the case. Despite multiple bans and restrictions, the gambling industry in the Russian Federation has been developing quite rapidly. New gaming zones have been added to the law (Crimea, and in 2026 the Altai Republic), and new casinos continue to be built in existing zones. Russian developers of gaming software products have been undergoing a rapid development as well. But judging from the latest news on gambling, no legalisation of casinos or gambling halls outside of the gaming zones is being planned. Instead, recent reforms have tightened control: the Unified Gambling Regulator (2021), the single interactive bet centre (2021), the federal gambling tax with a revenue-based tax on bookmakers (2026) and the self-exclusion register (September 2026).
