Consultancy firm describes Russia’s new sports betting draft law as being poor quality

Gaming consultancy firm 4H Agency has provided input on the recently drafted law for sports betting in Russia. According to the agency, the law is of ‘very poor quality.’ The company helps gaming entities to set up services in new markets, so it has experience in reviewing various gambling laws. The 4H Agency says that the Russian law is disappointing as it is the first draft law under discussion that similar to Western concepts in some way.

Details of the Law

The drafted sports legislation was first introduced in mid-November. It was adopted after it was read on December 8. The goal of the legislation is to change the regulations of the industry in Russia. A new regulator would be created as well as a payment center for sports betting.

Right now, the industry has self-regulated organizations. With this bill, a Unified Gambling Regulator and Payment System would be created. The mechanisms for special contributions would be updated based on the legislation as well as an online monitoring system created to help law enforcement.

Such contributions would be calculated based on quarterly income provided by sports betting. Calculations will be made based on how many wagers are accepted, plus interactive bets on sporting events.

The Numbers

Details were not provided in the legislation on how the income would be tallied except for the detail that special contributions would be equal to 1% of the company’s income. This amount cannot be less than €56,000 for leagues or sports federation under the coverage of the operator.

Authorities in Russia must provide comments on the legislation by December 22.