Russian e-casinos moved to .com domain
Since the year started some Internet payment systems have refused to maintain payments for e-casinos operating in Russia. The reason is the prohibiting gambling games on the Internet Act, which came into force January 1, 2007. However, market participants found a way out: they moved from .ru zone to .com zone, reports RBC daily.
At the end of 2006, according to market participants, Russia registered 10-15 e-casinos, paying taxes. On the whole, about 1.5 thousand gambling sited functioned on the Internet and 40% of them dealt with Russian-speaking clients. By experts’ estimate, gambling games’ turnover in Russia made up about us$ 1 billion a year.
The e-gambling prohibition provision appeared in the presidential version of the Act regulating gambling industry. At the same time, the majority of countries don’t ban e-gambling, but the main share of e-casinos are registered in off-shore zones promising particular legislation for online-games (the state gets profit and gamblers are provided guarantees).
After the Act regulating gambling activity came into force, gambling games on the Russian Internet are illegal; that is why some electronic payment systems such as Yandex Money ceased to take payments from e-casinos or their clients.
Nevertheless, market participants found the way to keep their business working; but as the biggest Russian e-casinos moved to .com domain, simultaneously they stopped paying taxes to Russia.
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