Another Russian tax shock for online gambling

The Russian Ministry of Finance has a strange way of creating the right tax environment to encourage online gambling operators, as demonstrated by its recent announcement of a tenfold hike in online gambling taxes paid by Russian bookmakers to 2.5 to 3 million roubles per operating region, along with a plan to make the already hard-pressed operators pay an additional 60 million roubles for sports development in the country (see previous reports).

This week the ministry struck another hammer blow, announcing plans for a further 10 percent federal tax on online betting sales, to be implemented at the end of 2016.

The proposal is open for public comment until May 5, and is expected to attract substantial protests once the fully detailed draft legislation is made available. There is confusion, for example, over how the ministry defines “sales”, which could be revenue or – worse – turnover.

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