The Russian government has been working hard to tackle illegal online gambling in the country recently with new laws put in place. The recent laws will focus on not just blocking illegal gambling sites in Russia but also blocking companies who may offer services to those sites.
Standing strong against illegal gambling
According to the recent reports, the Federal Tax Service (FTS) is taking a prominent position in this fight in Russia. The legislation that has been approved will give the FTS the power to block the financial service providers who are working with the gambling sites. This includes telecom operators, banks and payment agents.
Interestingly, there is no judicial approval required for the blocking of these services. However, there is a 60-day window for service providers to cut ties with the operators once they are named as an illegal online gambling provider.
Will other countries follow suit?
This move is a strong one, but it comes as no surprise for anyone who has been paying attention to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his fight against illegal gambling over the past year. Any service providers who do not use the 60-day window wisely will face serious action in Russia and this is something that everyone will want to avoid.
While Russia appears to be taking a strong stance against illegal gambling, other regions haven’t gone as far as to block the service providers supplying illegal sites. However, there is a chance that they may follow suit, should this work out for the country.
For now, Russia is certainly a country that we should all be keeping our eyes closely on.
