A plan to look into online betting by the Central Bank in Russia looks to be attached to the fact that Russian online gamblers have lost most of the access points to gambling related payment methods except for Bitcoin which with the new rules has made it difficult to place bets or to cash out.
The Russian business news source The Bell has been posting information that suggests the Central Bank’s intention to disrupt illegal online casinos and sports books and the accessibility available to Russians. Recently a number of payment solutions have had their ability to send or receive cross border transactions completely blocked and ten financial and payment solution companies have reportedly been fined.
Other payment service providers have had their business licenses cancelled by the authorities in the country. One bank Onego was said to have violated federal laws regulating banking activities, regulations of the Bank of Russia, and also “violated the requirements of the legislation in the field of combating legalization (laundering) of proceeds from crime and financing terrorism.”
The Bell reported after some investigation that it was able to confirm that it is now possible to place wagers with some of the largest online casinos only with BTC and not any other payment method.
The recent rumours in Russia are suggesting that the Russian government is moving to change to crypto currency to stall international sanctions brought against them. The discovery that crypto currencies are not as anonymous as previously thought and it is possible the authorities are able to track the source of transactions finding out where this type of transaction takes place. The method would allow the authorities in Russia to discover the illegal platforms casino operators are launching without notice. The illegal online gambling market in Russia is estimated at over $20 billion a year.
