Online Gambling in Russia
Online gambling in Russia has been restricted since 2009, together with the banning of land-based casinos in all but four Russian zones.
Russian laws ban online gambling and online poker, and set the minimum gambling age at 18 years. Its purpose is to restrict the uncontrolled spread of gambling outlets throughout Russia.
After July 1, 2009, any gaming facility operating outside of the four approved gambling zones were banned. The State began the crackdown on gambling when President Vladimir Putin ordered lawmakers and the Cabinet to put an end to it, especially in large urban centers.
The zones are well away from the main urban centers of Russia: the Altai Territory (southwest Siberia), Primorye (Far East), the Kaliningrad Region (Russia's exclave on the Baltic Sea), and on the border of the Rostov Region and the Krasnodar Territory in the south of the country.
It also prohibits domestic operators from offering online gaming, but does nothing to outlaw payments for gaming services made to foreign operators.
Historically, Russia has never offered major online gambling opportunities. A few companies offered mobile gaming in 2004 but these were also closed because of the 2006 legislation.
About Russia
Russia, officially known as the Russian Federation, is a state in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, Mongolia, and North Korea.
It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the United States by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometers (6,592,800 square miles), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than a ninth of the Earth's land area. Russia is also the ninth most populous nation with 142 million people.
It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning 9 time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources. It has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's freshwater.