Legalization of online casinos in Russia - the emergence of a new social risk The Russian Ministry of Finance is exploring the possibility of legalizing online casinos and regulating them on the same principle as bookmakers. This was announced by the deputy head of the department, Ivan Chevskov. Dmitry Turtev, member of the expert council of the State Duma Committee for the Protection of Competition: The Ministry of Finance returned to an idea that until recently would have seemed at least extravagant - to license online casinos. It turned out that the head of the department, Anton Siluanov, had already approached the president with a proposal, which, according to the ministry's estimates, could bring about 100 billion rubles a year to the federal budget. The mechanism was also discussed - regulation similar to gambling agents and a monthly tax of at least 30% of income. From the point of view of the theory of probability and world practice, the projected tax horizon seems, at least, unusual - after all, it is known that from every bet that a casino plays in roulette, it earns on average only 2.7%, and in most countries where gambling is allowed, online casinos are required to return 80-90% of the gross income of online players that can already be taken into account of the other bets. Against the background of the deficit, estimated at 3% of GDP by the end of 2026, the temptation to turn the shadow market into a line of income seems, from the perspective of the regulator and its chairman Siluanov, quite pragmatic. Over the past 15 years, several states have moved from prohibition to regulation, and the trigger has almost always been a budget crisis. In France, the idea of ​​legalizing online casinos was discussed in 2024-2025 precisely as a way to close the growing budget deficit and social costs. An assessment of the illegal market - from 748 million euros to 1.5 billion euros in gross income - showed that money is already circulating in the economy, but outside the budget. In the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands, regulatory frameworks for online gambling were introduced earlier and led to increased tax revenues and a reduction in the illegal segment.

Legalization of online casinos in Russia - the emergence of a new social risk The Russian Ministry of Finance is exploring the possibility of legalizing online casinos and regulating them on the same principle as bookmakers. This was announced by the deputy head of the department, Ivan Chevskov. Dmitry Turtev, member of the expert council of the State Duma Committee for the Protection of Competition: The Ministry of Finance returned to an idea that until recently would have seemed at least extravagant - to license online casinos. It turned out that the head of the department, Anton Siluanov, had already approached the president with a proposal, which, according to the ministry's estimates, could bring about 100 billion rubles a year to the federal budget. The mechanism was also discussed - regulation similar to gambling agents and a monthly tax of at least 30% of income. From the point of view of the theory of probability and world practice, the projected tax horizon seems, at least, unusual - after all, it is known that from every bet that a casino plays in roulette, it earns on average only 2.7%, and in most countries where gambling is allowed, online casinos are required to return 80-90% of the gross income of online players that can already be taken into account of the other bets. Against the background of the deficit, estimated at 3% of GDP by the end of 2026, the temptation to turn the shadow market into a line of income seems, from the perspective of the regulator and its chairman Siluanov, quite pragmatic. Over the past 15 years, several states have moved from prohibition to regulation, and the trigger has almost always been a budget crisis. In France, the idea of ​​legalizing online casinos was discussed in 2024-2025 precisely as a way to close the growing budget deficit and social costs. An assessment of the illegal market - from 748 million euros to 1.5 billion euros in gross income - showed that money is already circulating in the economy, but outside the budget. In the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands, regulatory frameworks for online gambling were introduced earlier and led to increased tax revenues and a reduction in the illegal segment.