Russia bookies panic as government proposes 100x rise in online betting duty

Russia’s bookmakers have learned to their horror that taking their action online will cost them 100x more than they’d previously been paying.

On Tuesday, Russian gambling media sources revealed that the Ministry of Finance had okayed amendments to the tax code, under which Russian-licensed online bookmakers will pay a minimum monthly tax of RUB 2.5m to 3m (US $36,600 to $43,900) effective Jan. 1, 2017. Bookies with land-based operations will continue to pay a monthly fee of between RUB 5k and 7k per month for each retail point of sale.

The new tax will reportedly apply for each region in which an online bookmaker does business. For the record, Russia has 12 economic regions, meaning bookies will likely be making some hard choices as to whether it’s economically feasible to maintain a regional presence.

The previous monthly minimum per region had been as low as RUB 25k ($366), making the new rate up to 100x higher. The news came as a shock to Russian bookies, who had previously expressed their dismay at last month’s reports that the government was planning a mere tenfold increase in gambling taxes.