Could quench future development
The Russian gaming industry is in turmoil following the announcement that the Ministry of Finance is considering a tenfold rise in the gaming tax, according to CalvinAyre.com.
In addition to the new rate, which could take effect by the end of the year, the government may also exact a new 10 percent tax on online sports betting revenue.
Among the first protests came from Oleg Zhuravsky, head of the First Self-Regulatory Organization of Russian Bookmakers. He told Kommersant.ru that up to 40 percent of the country’s 6,000 betting shops have closed in recent years, and more could follow if the tax is implemented. And Dmirty Malkov, of the Russian betting operator Fonbet, told Bookmakersrating.ru that the new tax structure could cut bookmakers’ profits by as much as 70 percent.
After casinos were banned across most of the country in 2009, four regions were set aside for legal gaming: Kaliningrad, Primorsky Krai, Altai Krai and Krasnodar Krai. But progress has been slow. The iGaming Post reports that only four casinos have opened since then: Oracle and Nirvana in Krasnodar Krai, Altai Palace in Altai Krai and Tigre de Crystal in Primorsky Krai.
“With the latest news and operators spending tens of millions of dollars in developing the casinos, it is expected that not one other casino will be built and those already in operation will struggle to make any kind of profit,” the Post reported.
The publication cited an unnamed former casino worker in Moscow who charged that some in the government would prefer illegal gambling dens to legal casinos, “as some officials make millions from those illegal joints.”
