Russia to boost illegal gambling penalties; Lawrence Ho eyeing Crimea casino?

Russia has proposed stiffer penalties for anyone who offers gambling options outside the country’s designated gaming zones.

On Thursday, the State Duma Committee on Constitutional Legislation recommended amending Russia’s Criminal Code to include new penalties for anyone offering unlicensed gambling activities outside Russia’s six official gaming zones.

Under the current system, illegal gambling operators face only administrative fines and forfeiture of property. Under the new rules, offenders would face jail terms of up to two years, as well as fines of RUB 500k (US $8k) or the complete garnishing of an offender’s salary or other income for up to three years.

Anyone caught leasing a building to an illegal gambling operator more than twice could be locked away for up to four years and hit with fines of up to RUB 1m or the loss of other income for up to five years.