Poll results: Russia remains a risk option for operators
Two-thirds of EGR poll respondents believe the market is too unpredictable to warrant investment
Operators should avoid the temptation of investing heavily in the vast Russian market due to its unpredictability, EGR readers have said.
Some two-third of respondents would err on the side of caution when thinking about entering the country, perhaps in light of last week’s news that online betting taxes are to drastically rise next year.
The move by Russia’s Ministry of Finance to increase licence fees could see digital operators paying more than ?5m a year – more than one hundred times higher than the existing fees for bookmakers.
Yet the size of the market has proved tempting for many operators, and recent moves by the government to tackle unlawful online gambling appeared to be levelling the playing field.
And some 33% of respondents to this week’s poll believe the Russian market is becoming an attractive and sustainable one for egaming operators to enter.
That view is supported by Amaya, which last year said it was “very optimistic” about the country moving towards regulation of online poker.