Lawmakers in Russia Approve Faster Orders Against Unlicensed Online Casinos

Russian lawmakers have backed new measures to speed up the blocking of illegal online casinos, giving regulators and law enforcement agencies stronger powers.

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At a State Duma session this week, deputies passed the first reading of a bill that would cut the time needed to block gambling websites. According to URA News, the proposal reduces the approval period from around five days to just 48 hours.

Online casinos remain banned in Russia, though the Ministry of Finance has floated the idea of lifting the ban and taxing operators instead. For now, agencies continue to shut down unlicensed sites, but officials have complained that existing procedures are slow and weighed down by bureaucracy. 

At present, the Unified Gambling Regulator must notify the Federal Tax Service, which then carries out checks before adding a site to the blacklist.

The draft law aims to streamline this process. “We hope to finalize the draft law ahead of a second reading,” Sergei Altukhov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma’s Committee on Economic Policy, told Russia’s Parliamentary Gazette.

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Ministry of Finance and other agencies to help 

Altukhov confirmed that regulators are not working alone. “We are working with the Ministry of Finance and other agencies on this,” he said, adding that officials are exploring faster ways to block online casinos. He noted that many of these sites are operated from countries considered unfriendly to Russia.

Legal experts welcomed the proposals but stressed that more work is needed. “Given the current rate at which gambling websites are appearing, significantly reducing the time it takes to block them is essential,” lawyer Stalina Gurevich told URA News. 

She warned, however, that the measures may not stop younger users from finding ways around restrictions. “I’m not sure this will significantly reduce the number of online casino visitors, especially among young people,” she said.

Gurevich explained that younger Russians are highly skilled online and often know how to reach blacklisted sites. “They often know how to access blacklisted sites online. These proposals need to be improved,” she added.

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Source: CasinoBeats