Russia reports 235% jump in online gambling complaints

Russia’s hyper-vigilant telecom watchdog has recorded a spike in complaints related to illegal distribution of online gaming content in the first six months of 2017.

In the first half of the year, online sentinel Roskomnadzor said it received more than 38,700 reports related to unlawful distribution of online gambling—a 235% increase from the same period last year.

The Russian federal agency also saw an increase in complaints in other categories, including child pornography (21,000 reports), drugs and drug use (39,000 reports), promotion of suicide (19,000 reports). In total, Roskomnadzor said it received more than 118,000 reports on the distribution of different types of information that are considered illegal in the country.

Roskomnadzor said it forwarded roughly 52,000 links to experts, who will decide on whether to include those in the registry of prohibited information.