Last year, bookmaker companies accepted bets from Russians totaling RUB 1.15 trillion, according to a recent report by the Bookmaker Rating, from which Vedomosti has excerpts. This rating is based on player surveys. It includes bets from both licensed bookmakers and bookmakers that are not licensed in Russia.
In 2018, Russians made 70% more bets (in monetary terms) than in the year before last. Then the “Rating of Bookmakers” estimated the Russian betting market at 677 billion rubles, and more than 400 billion were in the legal sector. According to SPARK-Interfax, the total turnover of licensed companies was significantly lower and amounted to about 100 billion rubles. Since the summer of 2017, bookmakers have installed online cash desks, but the FTS has not yet summed up the results of 2018, says a source of Vedomosti close to the FTS.
Representatives of the League of Betting (one of the largest Russian bookmakers), Parimatch and bwin agreed with the assessment that last year was a record for the Russian betting market. All other bookmakers did not respond to Vedomosti’s request.
Rates for 250 billion rubles. the Russians did last year with licensed bookmakers during the FIFA World Cup, which was held in Russia last year, the report said. The average rate is 1,500 rubles, and at least once 4.7 million people have bet on sports over the past year.
Most of the gamblers are men aged 25 to 34 with personal income from 20,000 to 50,000 rubles. They are dominated by workers and employees, as well as middle managers. Almost half of the players (45%) used the services of the bookmaker Fonbet, every fifth – 1xBet, almost the same (18%) – League of Bets, 16% – Leon. In total, there are 31 licenses for betting and sweepstakes in Russia.
43% of the players surveyed by the “Rating of Bookmakers” made bets in offshore companies, that is, at bookmakers that are not licensed in Russia. Such bookmakers work in the COM domain zone. In offshores, Russians choose Russified sites operating under the same brands as official Russian bookmakers, according to data from Rub90 (develops software for bookmakers). There is no court practice proving a link between licensed Russian bookmakers and offshore ones using the same brand, says Maria Lepshchikova, owner of Pravovaya Liniya. However, in 2017, the FAS fined the 1xBet bookmaker for advertising a 1xBET bookmaker unlicensed in the Russian Federation.
Since 2012, Roskomnadzor has been blocking the websites of illegal bookmakers, and since this year, the Federal Tax Service has been blocking transfers to them by the recipient company. According to the League of Betting estimates, the share of illegal offices has been significantly decreasing in recent years. “In 2017, it was 60-70%, today, thanks to the systemic and tough policy of Roskomnadzor and the Federal Tax Service, the shadow business accounts for about 40% of the market,” the League of Betting press service reported.
Read more about how the Russian betting market works here.
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