Chapter 2: Market overviews
operated by the biggest online casino operator in Russia and Ukraine. In October 2015 Russian
authorities started blocking websites operated by a host of major gaming operators, keeping to a
pledge it made earlier in 2015.
In February of that year, the Roskomnadzor media regulator said it would agree to a request from the
government for stronger control over access to unauthorised gambling sites in the country.
Having commenced this blocking process, the Bookamersrating.ru website has reported that the
agency has now started to block sites operated by some of the more major brands in the industry.
The likes of bwin party, Ladbrokes, Unibet, 888 Poker and Betway have all since had their sites
blocked in Russia.
A number of domestic operators such as Favbet, TrioBet, Vulkan-Bet and 1xbet have also been blocked
in the country.
The blocking comes at an uncertain time for the Russian gaming market, with the country having
pledged to clamp down on illegal gaming activities.
A new bill was introduced in the country in September 2015 in an effort to stop banks from processing
online gaming transactions.
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