Russian bookmaker Zenit joins online sports betting party

Russia’s online sports bettors have a new legal option at their disposal following the official launch of Zenit.win.

This week, Russian gambling affiliate Intelbet revealed that Moscow-based bookmaker Zenit had launched its new Russian-licensed online sports betting site. Zenit has also joined the Bookmakers Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO), one of two umbrella groups representing Russia’s licensed online bookies.

Zenit’s launch brings the total number of Russian-licensed bookmakers to 13, joining Liga Stavok, 1xBet, Winline, Betcity, 888 (not the UK operator), Fonbet, Olympus, Baltbet, Leon, BingoBoom, PariMatch and the most recent entrant Marathon. Bwin.ru, the Russian partnership of Digital Betting and GVC Holdings’ Bwin betting brand, is currently taking customer registrations but is expected to launch any day now.

As a member of the Bookmakers SRO, Zenit’s payment processing will be handled by JSC KIWI-Bank, a subsidiary of the Qiwi Group electronic payment processing outfit. Russia requires all online betting transactions to be channeled through TSUPIS online hubs and registering to bet with Zenit requires a two-stage process including verifying one’s identity documents at a Zenit retail office.