There are no more bets: illegal casinos have gone into the digital underground
The activities of an organized criminal community (OPS) that controlled 14 illegal online casinos have been suppressed in Russia. The TFR reported that the defendants carried out thousands of transactions every day, ensuring the operation of such platforms as Pin-Up, Leon, MelBet, Azino and 888Casino. Experts estimate the volume of the shadow gambling market at several trillion rubles per year. Izvestia investigated how the money turnover in underground casinos works.
Empire of Bets
During a special operation, the FSB and the TFR managed to detain 24 suspects of involvement in illegal business. The intruders controlled the betting service platform. They acted on behalf of 14 Internet platforms, including Pin-Up, Leon, MelBet, Azino, 888Casino, FreshCasino, MostBet, PlayFortuna, Punch, RioBet, Shangrilla, WhyCasino, Iwin and WinWin.
"Thousands of transactions were carried out daily by the defendants in the case in the interests of these playgrounds," said Svetlana Petrenko, an official representative of the TFR. The money from the players was accumulated in the OPS accounts, after which it was transferred to the casino organizers. Judicial financial examinations have been appointed to accurately calculate illegal profits.
The OPS had four blocks in its structure: financial, operational, accounting, and its own security service responsible for conspiracy.
"The financial unit ensured the illegal turnover of payments, coordinated the acquisition of dropper legal entities, bank details and cellular network identifiers. The operational unit carried out the general management of the company, communication with representatives of online casinos, and ensured the functioning of payment services," a source in the special services said.
Heavy luxury and federal wanted list
The court has already chosen a preventive measure in the form of detention for a number of defendants. Eight more alleged participants have been put on the federal wanted list.
During searches at the suspects' place of residence, the operatives seized bundles of cash, expensive cars and luxury goods. The court has seized all this property.
As the REN TV channel found out, one of the detainees is Arsen Hakobyan, the owner of a luxurious two—story mansion in an elite village near Moscow.
The defendants were charged under three articles of the Criminal Code: illegal organization of gambling (Part 3 of Article 171.2 of the Criminal Code), illegal circulation of funds of payments (Part 6 of Article 187 of the Criminal Code), as well as creation of a criminal community and participation in it (parts 1 and 2 of Articles 210 of the Criminal Code).
The scale of illegal gambling in Russia continues to grow, despite the blocking of websites and bank transfers. Evgeny Masharov, a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, estimates that the shadow market will reach 2 trillion rubles in 2025. He predicts a twofold increase in this figure in 2026, unless drastic measures are taken.
Gambling expert Dmitry Slobodkin, in an interview with Arguments and Facts, noted that there are no exact figures due to the illegal status, but it is obvious that the money goes abroad.
This problem is also recognized at the highest level. Russian Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov previously called illegal online casinos a "big and major problem" in the industry. According to him, the amount of money left by Russians in such establishments already exceeds the legal bookmaking sector.
"The bookmaker market is 90% populated, unlike casinos," the deputy minister told the Parliamentary Newspaper. — The organizers of such illegal entertainment come up with more and more new schemes. The fight against them continues, but we have not yet seen a significant effect."
Representatives of the betting community interviewed by Izvestia believe that the illegal segment (mainly online casinos) accounts for 40% of the Russian gambling market, and criminal proceeds go abroad.
Context: the fight against mirrors and new initiatives
Let us remind you that today legal gambling in Russia is allowed only in four special zones. It is a criminal offense to organize online casinos outside of these zones. However, the platforms continue to operate through mirror sites and accept payments not only from bank accounts and electronic wallets, but also in cryptocurrencies, says a source familiar with the situation in the illegal gaming industry.
The government is considering an initiative to speed up the blocking of banned websites. Meanwhile, similar crimes were solved in Crimea at the end of May, and earlier in Nizhny Novgorod and Tatarstan.
How to withdraw money
According to the Izvestia source, online casinos use a simple mechanism for the client: bets are placed through a random number generator with a set percentage of return (RTP), which guarantees the mathematical advantage of the casino.
— Money entry is instant, via cards, electronic wallets or cryptocurrency. The withdrawal of large amounts is more complicated: most often through "drop firms", where the winnings are disguised as a legal purchase using the SBP QR code, and the money is cashed out through one-day firms.
According to him, the Interior Ministry cannot stop this systematically, because casino servers are registered offshore, domain blocking is useless (mirrors appear instantly), and cryptocurrency and mixers make financial chains anonymous. In addition, legislation is lagging behind: there are no clear rules for digital money and bloggers' responsibility for advertising.
— Another way to withdraw funds is using cards issued to third parties (most often we are talking about residents of new territories, students or antisocial citizens), — the source continues.
According to him, after the criminalization of the provision of payment instruments, illegal immigrants have problems with a shortage of "plastic." "But this is not a classic police operation, but a technological race where law enforcement officers are always catching up," the source summarizes.
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