As a result, the Kremlin will proceed with expanding its quarterly 5% GGR tax charge on international bet types, helping fund Russia’s wide-ranging sports federations – an obligation that was formerly applied on the wagering of domestic sports events.
Further amendments have seen the Kremlin gain new legislative powers to directly suspend or terminate bookmaker licences on failure to meet tax obligations or for incumbents that have failed to register their wagering activities for a recorded period of six months.
The Kremlin has also increased the obligations of licensed bookmakers, with operators forced to maintain a minimum liability of RUB 500m (€6m) in bank guarantees, with a RUB 1bn (€12m) in net assets.
At present, Russia maintains 20 licensed sportsbooks approved by the Russian federal tax authority, whose transactions are monitored and recorded by the government’s SRO system.
Observing market developments, international law firm Dentons’ CIS office issued the following guidance note: “This bill will enter into force 60 days after its official publication, which will happen after the President assents to the bill and other technicalities are completed. In terms of timelines, we are looking at the new requirements taking effect in mid-autumn 2020.”
Source: GMB
