Russian gambling affiliate Bookmakers Ratings recently issued a new report that pegged current annual turnover of the Russian betting market at around US$ 11.75 billion, of which around 60% is claimed by Russian-licensed operators. Annual betting revenue in this country of 144 million people is estimated at US$ 816 million.
The report projects that the growing number of licensed online bookmakers, coupled with interest driven by Russian-hosted marquee sports events – such as this year’s Confederations Cup and next year’s FIFA World Cup – and new rules permitting bookmakers’ sports sponsorship opportunities, could push the legal betting market’s annual turnover to US$ 22.5 billion by 2022.
The report notes that roughly 65% of Russian bettors continue to patronize unauthorized internationally licensed online gambling operators. Yuri Krasovsky, president of bookmaker Liga Stavok, estimates this figure is closer to 80%.
There are at present 29 Russian-licensed bookmakers, and only 11 of them – Liga Stavok, 1xBet, Winline,
UK-listed operator GVC Holdings recently became the first international betting operator to license one of its brands to legally operate in Russia. Earlier this month, GVC announced a deal with local operator Digital Betting to launch the Bwin.
Source: GMB / Calvin Ayre
