Russia to Ban eSports Betting According to Lawmakers

27.08.2019, 19:01

Russian legislators are deliberating on making amendments to the law to ban betting on eSports. The Russian gambling laws equally prohibits betting operators from including competitions with underage athletes in the wagering market. A section of deputies in the Russian Duma still want “computer sports competitions” to be included in the list of prohibited gambling activities.

While speaking to Betting Business Russia, Darina Desinova registered her frustration over the efforts to ban e-sports. Desinova is the president of the Bookmakers Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO). SRO, together with one other organization, is the only body licensed to represent bookies in the nation.

eSports Betting in Russia

Denisova termed the move as “scandalous,” thus has no essence of being implemented. She decried how such would negate all the achievements e-sports gambling have brought. According to Denisova, eSports has made several gains in the recent past that have attracted many licensed bookies to offer e-sport market for wagering. Besides, Russia was privileged to be accorded a dedicated eSports operator only in June. The dedicated eSport operator culminated into the launch of GGbet.ru, which has legal papers to operate.

This week also saw the founder of Russian betting affiliate Bookmaker Rating Paruyr Shabazyan also registered his sentiment on the issue. In his interview, he gave the estimate that eSports wagering accounts for up to 7% of the total revenue in the gambling industry. He emphasized that the contribution of eSport betting might currently look insignificant, but he feels that the market is yet to see its better days. eSport gambling recorded double-digit growth in 2018 and is projected to multiply its gain by 2024.

The Russian lawmakers attempting to bring this legislation are aimed at protecting the youths from early negative effects of gambling. The legislators view eSports betting as one of the avenues that can expose young people to corruption. However, various observers believe that only a straightforward and responsible marketplace that will lead to early detection of corruption in sports. For now, the dilemma exists whether to prohibit betting and crown ignorance as a blessing or to allow gambling to go in anticipation of occasional match-fixing cases.