Russia bans electronic instant lotteries

Tuesday 23rd of July 2019

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill banning electronic instant lotteries.

The document bans instant lotteries, as well as its use of telecommunications networks and technical devices. Such lotteries are not allowed even with the use of electronic tickets.

“In order to exclude the possibility of gambling under the guise of lotteries, the draft law provides for the following: exclusion of norms allowing for conducting instant lotteries using electronic lottery tickets; imposing a ban on holding instant lotteries using information and telecommunications networks, as well as using technical devices.”

The new law also established the size of the prize fund of lotteries: it must be at least 50% but not more than 70% of the proceeds. At the same time, the amount of earmarked contributions for social activities, prescribed by the law, should be 10% of the difference between the quarterly revenue and the prize fund formed during the reporting quarter.

In a separate development, the head of the company behind the Shambala casino under construction in Primorye assured that its construction won't be affected by a recent construction incident.

JSC Shambala head Nikita Smolentsev said this after meeting regional vice-governor Vera Shcherbina, who visited the gambling zone soon after the incident.

In early July, a monolithic floor slab about 15 by 15 meters in size collapsed at a construction site.

The situation is not critical, there were no victims of the collapse, Smolentsev said.

“Unfortunately, such situations occur at a construction site even with the most experienced workers. But the incident did not greatly affect our work, the construction of the facility will not be stopped, the deadlines remain the same - the end of December 2019. Officially, the entertainment complex plans to start work in early 2020,” he said.

One of the main versions of the incident is a violation by the contractor of the curing of concrete. An investigation into the incident is currently underway.