Matryoshkas, vodka, bear, balalaika and samovar - these are the first associations with the largest country on the planet, but we want to go even deeper - into the very heart of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Russian novels with gambling themes are known all over the world: Pushkin's “Queen Of Spades” or Dostoevsky's “gambler”, and stories about such heroes as Margaret, Rodion Raskolnikov or Eugene Onegin reached not only Red Square, the Volga River carried them far to the sermon. Whether the real gambling situation in Russia is the same as it is often described in the literature - our author Milan Rabshsky is going to tell us about everything today.
Ranking of the best online casinos in Russia in 2023 by Milan Rabshsky
As for the activities of online casinos, the Russian Federation has a rather complicated law regarding gambling and everything related to it. So, in this article our author Milan Rabszski aims to present us with such information:
- history of gambling in Russia;
- gambling: the legal situation;
- how land-based gambling develops;
- what payment methods are the most popular in Russia;
- what are the predictions for gambling in Russia;
- advantages of Russian online casinos.
History of gambling in Russia
The history of gambling in Russian online casinos, like the country itself, is immense. It is worth imagining such a big one. Imagine such a big thick book of beautiful literature, which contains about a hundred novels. This is the size of the gambling history in Russia.
Gambling appeared in ancient times and slowly spread across the planet, leaving its mark in every country it touched. Each country has its own stages of development of gambling, discussed in this article Russia still remembers those times when Tsar Alexander II and Tsar Nicholas II allowed to open naziwmny casinos and conduct various kinds of state lotteries. Bolshevism had an impact on gambling, abolishing not only any gambling activity, but also imposing severe criminal sanctions for conducting such activities.
Even in the 1920s, during the rule of the Soviet Union, any gambling activity was prohibited until 1989. Just this year, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the first gambling house in Moscow was opened - “Savoy” and “Astoria Palace” in Tallinn. The first game of extraordinary popularity was poker, and later slot machines were introduced to hotels that hosted players from all over the world. In 2002, the number of land-based casinos in Russia is about 50 casinos, which brought to Moscow and other Russian cities an increase in financial position. In 2009, gambling in Russia was banned by the Minister Vladimir Putin. Putin allowed only four legal zones to operate. This prohibition also applied to online gambling. since then, the situation has hardly changed. The Russian government has not changed its position on gambling in the country.
Laws and regulations on online gambling in Russia
Playing Russian rubles in various online casinos became possible, mainly thanks to Federal Law No. 244-FZ of December 29, 2006 "on government regulation of gambling activities and on amendments to certain laws". The main purpose of such a law in Russia was the complete introduction of a ban on gambling in this country (except for casinos located in special gambling zones:
- Altaic Country;
- Krasnodar Krai;
- Kaliningrad Oblast;
- Primorsky Krai.
The period from 2007 to 2014 was a waiting period. No one had heard or even expected that Russian licensed online casinos would appear, where it was possible to make deposits in rubles.
The situation was changed by the first licensed Russian online casino: Goldfishka - a brand that is well known not only to experienced players, but also to newcomers. Goldfishka Casino online to this day pleases players with its variety of gambling from Microgaming and generous bonuses and playing on Russian rubles.
In 2012, the Supreme Court completely banned online gambling, for this reason, even a special government body called Roskomnadzor was created, which should track and blacklist all illegal online gambling sites, including international online casinos and bookmakers.
Despite this, millions of Russian gamblers play in foreign online casinos and sports betting sites, hiding their IP through a VPN or using their own IP addresses, risking prosecution by the government.
As statistics show, more than 70% of all gambling bets placed by Russians are illegal. The Russian government, of course, does not prosecute people who place online bets, because their priority is to prosecute the operators who offer these services.
How to choose the best Russian online casino: TOP 3 tips from Milan Rabshsky
At the beginning of the digital age, many online casinos have become a place where you can have a great time and relax. As already mentioned above - gambling in Russia has been illegal since 2009, but not taking into account this fact, Russian online casinos have gained great popularity and spread throughout Russia. So, how to choose the best one among this great mass? Milan Rabshsky gives us three tips to help us pay attention to some things in Russian online casinos.
- Take a few extra precautions, such as using a free built-in VPN. This option will help you access all blocked websites. The web server will see you as a citizen of another country and will allow you to use the services of the casino, which will no longer be banned by the Russian authorities.
- The second is directly related to the currency. Before you start betting-you need to make sure that the casino accepts the payment method that suits you and you can make a deposit in rubles. You can also choose a Russian online casino that accepts cryptocurrency, which will allow you to avoid the problem of making payments abroad or on the territory of Russia.
- The language of the Website is important. It is often the case that the gambling operator offers a multilingual website, the most popular languages are English, South African, French and German, although sometimes there are Russian translations. So choose the language you are familiar with or use the services of an online translator to understand the content that a Russian or foreign online casino displays on its website. An additional option to this issue is what language the Customer Service is talking in, it is worth talking directly in your preferred language or using the live chat option using an online translator.
Payment in Russian online casinos
Players from Russia and other countries are interested in how you can deposit and withdraw money in Russian online casinos? Of course, legal issues can make payment cases a little more complicated, which means that methods such as e-wallet and cryptocurrencies are very popular among players. of course, debit and credit cards are still present here, but Milan Rabshski wants to focus more on alternatives that seem more relevant and beneficial to Russian players. So, let's see what alternatives our author single out for Russian and South African players.
Yandex Money |
While this payment method has a certain reach outside of Russia, its success in the country from which it comes is phenomenal. With this method, you can buy almost anything, and the ease of Use and unusual popularity allows you to make quick payments in online casinos. So, Yandex Money is:
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Qiwi Wallet | This e-wallet is popular among Russian players because it is the so-called intermediary between the buck and the online casino, which is a good option considering today's legal situation in Russia. Also, this e-wallet is very popular in Kazakhstan. |
Web Money | This method of payment has been operating since the 90s and was founded in Russia. This is the most popular way to anonymously transfer money online, but an important feature that characterizes Webmoney from a negative point of view, these are fees. |
Bitcoin |
Bitcoin is at the top of all payment methods in Russia, if you take into account the gambling situation in Russia.
Bitcoin in Russian online casinos:
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All the methods described by us allow you to make a deposit in rubles. Some Russian online casinos keep the entire Register of bets and deposits in rubles, while others in dollars or euros. but even in the second case, the player first makes a deposit in rubles, and the computer system converts all this into dollars. In this case, the conversion is a transfer in conventional units, which are called euros or dollars, and no commission is charged for such operations. As a rule, in European casinos online game is not played in rubles. The player himself must take care of the conversion of rubles into currency, pay a bank Commission and only then make a deposit.
The minimum deposit amount in Russian online casinos is much lower when compared with European online casinos. On some websites you will find information about the game for a minimum deposit of ₽ 10. The minimum bet on slot machines can start at ₽ 0.1 per line.
Russian online casinos have a more generous bonus policy than foreign brands. For example, such a bonus as 100% up to 1,000 euros is not uncommon on Russian gambling sites, while European online casinos can double a player's deposit to only 300-350 euros maximum.
Fixed gambling in the Russian Federation
As we already know, Russian online casinos are a very complicated subject, but with land-based casinos in Russia it is almost the same. This is mainly because gambling in Russia is legal only in four authorized regions - the Altai country, the Krasnodar Territory, the Kaliningrad region and the Primorsky Territory.
In fact, land-based casinos in Russia can be counted on the fingers of one hand. We collected them in our table:
Altai Palace Casino | Tigre de Cristal Resort Casino | Russian casino in Soci | Russian Casino Sobranie | Russian casino Boomerang |
It is characterized by English-speaking staff and great croupiers. In the building itself there is a spa and gym, as well as a 24/7 restaurant and a nightclub. The casino was located in the heart of the Altai and opened its doors to gamblers back in 2014. The casino offers us karaoke singing and a room where you can feel the atmosphere of Vegas. | The casino is located near VVO International Airport. Tigre de Cristal is very popular among Chinese businessmen. It is distinguished by its magnificent surroundings, located among the undulating hills. and when we get inside, we'll see themed bars and two international restaurants.The casino has around 250 games, 50 video Slots and a VIP Players Club. | Soci casino is one of the best casinos Russia has to offer to gambling fans. this resort offers a variety of exclusive tourist and Holiday services. We also have a dedicated Poker Club that operates under the prestigious umbrella of Poker Club Management. This club organizes tournaments in Russia and abroad, offering such games: Texas NL, omaha SA, 7-card Stud, Hi-Lo etc. | Such a Russian casino is the place where the best games are collected: Six Card Poker, Golden oasis Poker, Split Poker, Baccarat and Blackjack. All of them are very popular among the Asian gambling crowd, which is the main target market of Sobranie casino. | Boomerang casino is the second casino that has been opened in Sochi, more specifically in the Krasnaya Polyana gambling zone (a summer resort on the Russian Black Sea coast). Boomerang casino opened in January 2019. It has over 200 slot machines as well as 20 live tables. |
Summary: the benefits of online gambling in Russia
We expect that our article has provided our readers with a great read on Russian online casinos. At first glance, it seems that the whole thing with Russian online casinos is complicated because of the strict law in Russia, but in fact it is not. experts say that it is worth simply remembering the three most important issues: VPN, language and currency. Online casinos in Russia have a larger budget - thousands of players play in them every day, so the jackpot grows several times faster than in real casinos. The advantage of online casinos is that you do not need to carry cash or a bank card with you. All payments are instant and winnings are high. We hope that soon the gambling situation in Russia will change for the better, and for now we are happy with what we have at the moment.