Russia’s legal gambling industry could generate around RUB100bn ($1.2bn) annually in taxes and other payments, Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov said, as officials consider how to address the country’s unlicensed online casino market.
Speaking at a sports and gambling industry forum on 1 October, Chebeskov said the sector was already approaching that annual level in 2026. He cited approximately RUB42bn in targeted contributions and RUB50bn in taxes collected at different levels of government, including gambling and personal income taxes.
Chebeskov said the illegal online casino market was comparable in size to the licensed bookmaking sector. He argued that unlicensed platforms don't contribute taxes or funding for sport and operate without the protections available in the regulated market.
The Finance Ministry is working with the Unified Gambling Regulator on potential responses, he said. Options include maintaining the ban while tightening controls on payments and website access, or permitting regulated online casino operations along lines similar to the framework for bookmakers.
The two approaches would have different implications for operators. Stronger blocking and payment controls would focus on access to existing illegal services, while legalisation would require a licensing and oversight framework for a product that Russia currently prohibits online.
The latest RUB100bn figure concerns estimated annual payments from the existing gambling industry. It is separate from a proposal reported in January under which a regulated online casino market was projected to raise approximately RUB100bn a year in tax revenue. That proposal remains under consideration.
In other related news, the Unified Gambling Regulator recently set out how targeted contributions are transferred to sports federations and leagues. Separately, a proposal to allocate some gambling revenue to addiction research adds to the debate over the industry’s public funding role.
The RUB100bn figure for the existing industry is separate from an earlier estimate of potential online casino tax revenue
