There are no more bets: Russia wants to impose millions of fines for online casino advertising

In Russia, they want to impose fines of up to 7 million rubles for advertising illegal online casinos. In addition, it is proposed to prescribe a separate penalty for violating existing requirements for such advertising. The bill with amendments to the Administrative Code was prepared by State Duma deputies from United Russia. The reason is the increase in patients diagnosed with "pathological gambling addiction." Currently, in Russia there is only general liability for violating the law on advertising, but there are no fines for gambling advertising.

Why is the number of people addicted to games growing?

In Russia, it is proposed to impose millions of fines for illegal advertising of gambling (online casinos) on the Internet, as well as to establish separate administrative liability for violations of the law on advertising by the gaming business. As Izvestia found out, such amendments to the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation were prepared by the head of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy from the United Russia faction, Artyom Metelev.

There is no separate responsibility for violating the law for the gambling business today. Although there are rules in the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation that regulate the rules for displaying ads in general. They are also used to advertise medicines, credit and microfinance organizations, as well as other organizations.

The explanatory note to the new draft law, which is available to Izvestia, states that for several years in a row, a steady increase in patients with a diagnosis of "pathological gambling addiction" has been recorded in the Russian Federation. This is evidenced by the data of the Russian Medical Academy of Continuing Professional Education of the Ministry of Health.

"The danger of this disease cannot be underestimated: according to some doctors, it is as high as alcoholism or drug addiction in terms of the number of suicides caused by addiction," the document emphasizes.

It also reports on the annual growth of the gambling market in the country. So, in 2024, according to the Federal Tax Service, the turnover of only authorized betting companies in Russia increased by 40% and amounted to almost 1.8 trillion rubles. In total, more than 6 million people placed bets. At the same time, the share of the illegal market is estimated at 35-40% of the total.

As noted in the document, the Internet contributes to the growing popularity of gambling among Russians. And the most vulnerable social group for this disease are young people, sometimes under the age of majority.

"According to Rostelecom, in the Central Federal District alone, more than 3.5 million attempts to access gambling resources from students of schools, colleges and other educational institutions are blocked per week," the explanatory note says.

The organizers of illegal gambling use various techniques to organize their work and attract customers. Firstly, most illegal casinos have licenses issued in offshore zones (for example, Curacao, Malta). Secondly, they use so-called affiliate programs, when third-party online resources or bloggers can place their ads for money, the document says.

"The most striking example was the blogger Mellstroy. In 2023, he announced that he receives about 1.5 million rubles from gambling organizers for one broadcast. In 2024, thanks to the participation of a famous performer in the broadcast, he attracted more than 700 thousand viewers and received a one—time payment of 300 million rubles from the casino," the explanatory note says.

Currently, the law has requirements for gambling advertising. In particular, such advertising should not address minors, contain statements that exaggerate the likelihood of winning or downplay the degree of risk, should not create the impression that winning is guaranteed, and other provisions. However, there is no separate liability for violations of these rules. In this regard, Artyom Metelev proposes to introduce a new rule in the Administrative Code — "Violation of the requirements established by law for advertising risk-based games, betting," according to which punishment will be determined.

So, for its violation, the deputy proposes to punish with confiscation of equipment and a fine for citizens from 100 to 200 thousand rubles, for officials — from 200 to 500 thousand, for legal entities — from 1 to 5 million rubles.

In addition, in the same article, the deputy proposes to add a norm on punishment for advertising illegal gambling on the Internet. According to the document, fines with confiscation of equipment for citizens will range from 200 to 500 thousand rubles, for officials — from 500 thousand to 1.5 million rubles, for legal entities — from 5 to 7 million rubles.

According to Artem Metelev, the introduction of punishment is explained by the fact that often the actions of streamers and bloggers cannot be unequivocally qualified as advertising. For example, when they post referral links in a pinned comment under a video or demonstrate a successful game in illegal online casinos on streams, allegedly showing multimillion-dollar winnings, such actions cannot be formally attributed to advertising, but in fact they allow new players to be brought to illegal gambling organizers, the deputy explains.

Izvestia sent a request to the government with a request to comment on the prospects for supporting the bill.

What is the danger of gambling addiction?

Oleg Davydov, Executive Director of the union of the First SRO of Bookmakers, recognized the need for government intervention in the fight against illegal business.

— Of course, stricter legislation for illegal business is necessary, as it is growing, and combating it should become a key task of the state in regulating the industry as a whole. Therefore, we will support any tightening for him," he explained to Izvestia.

Alexander Kalinin, President of Opora Russia, believes that if a business violates the law and fines do not work, then responsibility must be tightened.

— It's not for nothing that the locations of such a business in Russia were limited at one time. Some Russians lose not only income, but also property on it. At the same time, any changes in legislation should be discussed with businesses so as not to reach the point of absurdity," said Alexander Kalinin.

According to him, it is not the strengthening of punishment itself that is important, but the wording of the violation, for which these fines will be imposed.

Oleg Pavlov, head of the Public Council at Rospotrebnadzor, in turn, noted that Russians who are addicted to gambling today are not only losing their property, but also getting into loans, giving the gambling business the latter. According to him, therefore, it is very important that the government takes measures to tighten the conduct of such business, especially measures to reduce advertising activity in both the legal and illegal spheres.

In addition, the expert believes that along with increased punishment, it is necessary to expand the powers of control bodies so that they can block such online resources in a pre-trial manner, as well as give them the authority to bring to justice bloggers and opinion leaders who make money from such advertising.