Poll: Are B2B deals the best way to unlock Russia’s sportsbook potential

The regulatory situation in Russia is one that’s been debated for many years. While some argue online operation is prohibited, others believe the law can only be applied to those based within Russia’s borders.

And it’s because of this ambiguity  that there’s been a thriving dot.com market in Russia with a number of global operators believed to be deriving tens of millions of pounds worth of revenues from the country each year.

However, access to players has become tougher with Russian authorities cracking down on media companies and banks that facilitate unlicensed action, while the country also recently established an online sports betting framework for the benefit of local firms.

Foreign operators are unable to apply for a licence but last week GVC struck a B2B licensing deal with a major Russian media company Rambler&Co., which will see the operator provide its bwin brand, platform and services while Rambler takes care of the marketing.

The deal means bwin.ru will be available, legally, to Russian players later this year with GVC likely to be on a revenue share deal of some nature.

While the deal is unlikely to lead to poker and casino operators withdrawing their dot.com activity in Russia, the ability to advertise sportsbook to Russian customers may see other foreign operators follow the same route as GVC.

With this in mind, this week’s EGR Intel polls ask whether we’ll soon see a host of other sportsbooks replicate GVC and team up with locally licensed Russian sportsbook operators, or will this be a unique deal unlikely to have much, if any, impact on dot.com players.