Gambling industry: what regulation awaits the betting business in Russia

In July of this year, the government approved a bill according to which advertising of betting shops will be subject to mandatory labeling. At the same time, the State Duma is preparing a package of legislative initiatives regulating the sphere of gambling. Clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of ludomania are also being developed. In September, deputies said that some domestic advertising platforms place official advertisements for bookmakers using gray areas, which may involve underage users in gambling. Therefore, the deputies propose to tighten control over such advertising. The issue of banning betting advertising or even all betting activities is periodically raised. At the same time, many experts emphasize the significant contribution of legal bookmakers to the development of Russian sports and the economy. What could be the regulation of gambling advertising and what options the industry can offer — in the Izvestia article.

Market Features

Betting companies can be divided into legal (officially registered in the ERIS) and illegal. In 2024, more than 6 million Russians placed bets in legal offices. The turnover of the betting market increased by 40% over the year, reaching 1.7 trillion rubles.

At the same time, the legal betting business has already become an important part of the sports economy — licensed companies transfer 2% of the total betting volume to sports federations. For example, Fonbet invests 1.5 billion rubles annually in support of the KHL, while Winline pays 2.76 billion rubles a year to the RPL. Since 2022, Winline has become an official partner of RPL with a total commitment of 11.04 billion rubles. Fonbet also sponsors the Russian Cup in the amount of 2.4 billion rubles annually. Together, these two companies account for 90% of all investments in Russian sports through sponsorship contracts and support for sports leagues.

The contribution of bookmakers to the development of sports is also noticeable at the regional level. For example, the cooperation of Nizhny Novgorod basketball, hockey and football clubs with the betting company "Pari" brings in a total of about 600 million rubles. This is the first time in the history of Russia when almost all sports in the region are funded by bookmakers, which significantly reduces the burden on the regional budget.

The main concerns of regulators are related to the illegal segment, which includes online casinos, sweepstakes and underground betting sites. Such companies do not pay taxes and deductions for the needs of sports, but distribute aggressive advertising. According to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the turnover of the illegal gambling market amounted to 300 billion rubles, about 18% of the legal segment.

Yuri Krasovsky, President of the League of Betting, claims that illegal operators take up to 70% of turnover from legal companies. According to Ratmir Ronami, vice president of the company, Russian sports in 2024 may not receive about 25 billion rubles in targeted contributions due to the activities of underground bookmakers and casinos.

Prohibit or regulate

Given the scale of the negative impact of the shadow market and the problem of ludomania, discussions about the strictness of niche regulation are periodically raised. Both moderate and radical ideas are being expressed, for example, a complete ban on betting activities or advertising betting shops. Experts believe that drastic measures will have a negative impact on the industry. At the same time, they note that it is necessary to refine the regulation.

— A complete ban will lead to the flourishing of the shadow market, but this does not mean that control over the industry is not required at all. Limiting the sources and platforms where bookmakers can advertise, and banning the promotion of teen—oriented materials is a step in the right direction," says ARIR President Boris Omelnitsky.

Experts also oppose a complete ban on bookmaker advertising. They note that it supports healthy competition between operators and helps distinguish licensed offices from illegal ones.

— Currently, there are many restrictions on bookmaker advertising. For example, television advertising is allowed only at night or during match broadcasts, and online advertising is exclusively on sports resources. At the same time, if the advertising of legal bookmakers is banned altogether, it will give the opposite result. It is advertising that helps distinguish official companies (which pay taxes and support sports) from illegal ones. If you remove it, then people will simply move into the "shadow" segment," Omelnitsky adds.

Grey areas and self-regulation

Some experts pay attention to working with gray areas. These include, for example, cases where betting companies promote their websites through advertising lottery tickets or sports competitions.

— In the field of gambling, sports betting is strictly regulated, and lottery advertising does not imply any special restrictions. Therefore, bookmakers, like other participants in the advertising market, often resort to the so—called "surrogate" or "umbrella" advertising, when another product is advertised under the guise of one product, the advertising of which is strictly unregulated, and therefore limited in advertising opportunities. The consumer's association is usually created directly through the brand, but other visual techniques can also be used — typical design elements or a characteristic storyline. Such a marketing ploy is prohibited by law, but the presence of associative influence is a subjective issue, and the law is not formally violated, so law enforcement practice in this area is diverse," says Shermet Kurbanov, Senior associate, co-head of IP and digital Law practice at SL LEGAL.

Alisa Mikheeva, a lawyer at the IP and digital law practice at SL LEGAL, gives another example.

— There are a lot of cases when betting companies try to advertise using loopholes in the legislation. So, in 2016, during a football match broadcast on Match TV, an advertisement for the Olympus charitable Foundation was placed at the stadium around the perimeter of the football field. The FAS, and then the courts, came to the conclusion that the central place in advertising is occupied by the logo, which is associated with the Olympus bookmaker of the same name. In this regard, the object of advertising is not only a charitable foundation, but also a bookmaker. Accordingly, the ban on advertising betting services was violated, and the charity foundation was fined," Mikheeva said.

Bookmakers are also trying to integrate into the advertising of sporting events. So, in 2023, the FAS opened a case against the Fonbet betting company for outdoor advertising of the "FONBET Russian Football Cup". The FAS concluded that by using colors similar to the corporate colors of the bookmaker's office, as well as other typical elements of the bookmaker's design (bright red translucent letters FONBET on the background), consumers create a stable association with the bookmaker, therefore, the object of advertising in this case is not a sporting event, but the bookmaker's services.

According to lawyers, in recent years, there has been a trend towards an increase in cases of "surrogate" advertising, as bookmakers are increasingly turning to alternative ways to promote their brands. All these attempts, as a rule, are abruptly stopped by the FAS. At the same time, it is possible to act not only on the part of the regulator. As part of improving the integrity of players and whitewashing the market, the industry can develop self-regulatory measures.

— In fact, bookmakers have two options for the development of events — the continuation of an active marketing policy despite possible fines (since audience reach can compensate for potential costs) or a step towards self-restraint and self-regulation, as happened with beer producers. In our opinion, the second option is preferable, of course," Kurbanov stressed.