Gambling has turned into one of the greatest policy problems for Russian Government since the beginning of the 21st century because of the rapidly increasing number of slot machines and gambling houses. Casinos started spreading all over the country, which caused a great concern for the local authorities, which were worried for the younger population. Currently, gambling in Russia is legal in several regional subject areas. A few years ago – in 2009 – it was proclaimed as illegal in the rest of the country’s territory as part of Russia’s strict anti-gambling policy.
The authorities in the country have actually never supported web-based gambling activities, which became a reason why players’ access to poker-related websites has been blocked literally without an apparent reason.
All forms of gambling were officially prohibited in 1928 and over the time when Russia was put under Soviet Rule. This lasted until almost the end of the 1980s, when some rules underwent through a change. In 1988, the country made slot machines legal in some areas only. The gambling prohibition was fully lifted in 1989.
In the period between 1989 and 2002 it was a time of a sharp increase in the number of casino operating on the territory of Russia, with over 50 gambling houses being run in Moscow alone. This type of entertainment became more and more popular among local citizens, but the country’s regulation was relatively poor, which made the country’s Government take urgent measures to control the activity.This lasts until 2006, when a law that banned all forms of online gambling in the country was passed by the Russian Government. Until then, local customers were provided with access to most gambling websites.
In 2009, gambling was legalized in a total of four zones of the country: Kaliningrad Oblas, Altai Krai, Primorsky Krai and Krasnador Krai. The status quo lasted until three years later. In 2012, the online gambling ban in the country was brought one step further thanks to a ruling of the Supreme Court of Russia, which stated that online gambling providers’ websites must be blocked in the country.
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