Contents
In 2022, Russian betting houses received almost 900 billion rubles in revenue, the government wants to increase the amount of betting fees by 1.5 times by 2024, and the State Duma supported in the first reading of laws to combat match-fixing and to increase funding for children's sports through deductions from bookmakers. At the same time, “Primorye” has already paid 3.2 billion rubles in taxes to the treasury, and in the Sochi gambling zone they analyzed the behavior of the players and named the favorite entertainment of the guests. How will taxes be calculated for miners in Russia, why do they want to impose a ban on the mining of cryptocurrencies in Moscow, and what international competitions have Russian cybersportsmen been invited to – read the Login Casino digest January 21-27.
The unified regulator has reported on the work of the betting industry in 2022
ERAI has presented a report on the work of the betting market in 2022. So, last year:
- the revenue of betting companies amounted to 879.3 billion rubles;
- The top three bookmakers in terms of revenue included the brands Fonbet, Winline; and “1xBet”, which accounted for 65% of the market;
- revenue from land-based betting shops accounted for 8% of the total market and reached 72.8 billion rubles, while only 12 out of 20 working ones have offline betting shops bookmakers;
- sports leagues and federations received 13.8 billion rubles as contributions from bookmakers, of which 20% was directed to support children's and youth sports;
- Table tennis and tennis federations of the Russian Federation, as well as the Ice Hockey Federation received the largest amount of deductions from bookmakers;
- the pool of sports federations supported by betting fees has grown to 121.
By 2024, the amount of betting fees will increase by 1.5 times
The departmental approval of the bill, which provides for an increase in bookmakers' deductions from 1.5 to 2% by 2030, led officials to a consensus: the concept needs to be changed. By the second reading, two important adjustments are planned to be made to the document:
- the increase in deductions will happen faster than expected – not by 2030, but by the beginning of 2024;
- there will be an increase in the minimum amount of betting deductions: from 30 million to 45 million rubles.
If the bill is passed with the above modifications, the new conditions will come into effect from the beginning of 2024.
Law on Prevention of Match-Fixing Passed on First Reading
Russian sports leagues and federations have approached a possible expansion of their powers in countering match-fixing. The draft law, which allows leagues and federations to receive information about bets made by players, referees, coaches and other interested representatives of sports in bookmakers, was adopted by the State Duma in the first reading. If the law is finally adopted, leagues and federations will be able to request the specified information through the Unified Regulator after submitting a reasoned written request.
The State Duma supported the law on increasing funding for children's sports through betting deductions
Parliamentarians in the first reading supported the idea of increasing targeted betting fees in favor of the development of children's sports. The normative act provides for an increase in funding from 20 to 25% of the total target allocations. The remaining 75% will go to professional sports, as well as to finance events within the framework of specific sports development programs.
During the years of the pandemic, more than half of land-based bookmakers, casinos and lotteries have closed in Russia
The number of organizations associated with the provision of services in the field of gambling decreased from 997 to 433 in the period from January 2020 to January 2023. In percentage terms, the decrease in the number of companies in the industry was 57%. The key reason for this dynamic is that the conditions caused by the pandemic have had a detrimental effect on the work of many gambling establishments, which have been forced to close indefinitely or continue to operate under strict restrictions. Even after the restrictions were lifted, establishments could not restore their previous sales volumes, as many players switched to online platforms, and foreigners never returned to the Russian gambling and entertainment industry.
For 10 years «Primorye» paid 3.2 billion rubles in taxes
Tax revenues from the operation of the gambling zone “Primorye” since the start of its work in 2013 and until the end of 2022, at various budget levels, they have reached 3.2 billion rubles. At the same time, for the nine months of 2022, the gambling and tourist complex paid 350 million rubles to the treasury. The main tax payments come from two hotel complexes with casinos located in them – “Shambhala” and Tigre de Cristal. It is expected that after the completion of the construction of all planned 12 casino hotels, the tax flow will exceed 5 billion rubles.
45% of guests of the Sochi gambling zone choose to play slot machines
Representatives of the Sochi gambling zone shared information regarding the length of stay of guests in the casino on the territory of the cluster. Analysts have determined that on average a guest spends about four hours in a casino. At the same time, tourists spend up to 50% of their time in the casino directly on gambling. The remaining 50% of the time is spent on non-gaming activities: attending sports competitions and theatrical performances, dining at a restaurant, etc. It is these statistics that make casino operators expand the list of non-gaming services. In 2022 alone, non-gaming revenue increased by 15%.
Analysts also studied the preferences of visitors regarding gambling. About 45% of tourists choose slot machines, another 28% prefer roulette, and poker is a favorite pastime for 25% of guests. At the same time, from 2019 to 2022, the size of the average bet in slot games increased by 25%.
Taxes for miners in Russia will be calculated in the same way as and for the rest of the business
Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma committee on the financial market, spoke about this. According to him, mining is now considered as one of the types of entrepreneurial activity and the tax rates for it will be similar. Parliamentarians will set one of two options:
- analogue of a single tax on temporary income in the amount of 7-15%;
- 20% income tax.
The first option will be applicable for those miners who will be registered as entrepreneurs without forming a legal entity. The second option – for miners designed as individual entrepreneurs.
In the Russian Federation they want to ban mining in residential buildings
The relevant recommendation to ban mining in residential buildings was sent to the government by the Energy Commission. Additionally, the same recommendation proposes to establish a ban on mining in areas with a shortage of electricity, including Moscow, Adygea and Kuban. As specified in the State Duma, the document will be considered within the framework of separate legislative acts.
Russian cybersportsmen were invited to the Asian Games
The organizers of the 19th Asian Games, in which esportsmen from different countries will compete in League of Legends, Dota 2, FIFA 23 and Hearthstone, invited Russians to take part in the competition. The Asian Games will be held on September 23 – October 8, 2023 and will include competitions in 40 sports, including esports. The organizers said they believe in the unifying power of sport and that athletes should have equal access to compete. The Russian eSports Federation has not yet responded to the invitation.