Illegal offshore bookmakers lure Russian punters

Saturday 3rd of March 2018

At least $1 billion a year has been estimated to go to illegal offshore gambling websites from Russian punters, according to reports.

The figure is a black-mark in the industry considering that the country is preparing to host the World Cup in June to July this year.

“The total turnover volume of the legal and offshore online bookmaking market is more than $2 billion a year,” said Anton Rozhkovsky, the director of the TSUPIS online betting payment system.

“Around 70 percent of that is illegal, offshore business,” he said.

Bookmakers in Russia have been preparing for a surge in betting activity around the World Cup, but admit that offshore sites could pose a risk to the bottom-line of legal bookmakers.

Alena Sheyanova, a spokesperson for Leon, a Russian bookmaker, said that bettors going the legal route are required to pay tax and submit identity papers in person if they wish to register with a bookie.

However, many will choose to skirt the rules by going to offshore sites using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).

“Because of these technicalities, our business is not developing as quickly as it could,” Sheyanova said.

Sports Betting Illegal World Cup Bookmaker