Russian Casino and Card Room Gaming

Until 2006, the casino industry in Russia was largely unregulated. Casinos were illegal during the vast majority of Russia's Communist rule. The first casinos opened in 1988 and operated out of hotels catering only to foreigners. It is estimated that there were over 100 casinos and over 3,000 gaming halls in Moscow alone at the height of this gaming boom. Rapid growth of the casino industry in the 10 years before 2004 drew government attention, and in January of that year, the power to tax gaming establishments was granted to regional authorities.

In December 2006, the Russian president passed a casino bill to control the growth of the industry. The law established a minimum age of 18 years for gambling, outlawed online gambling, and limited casinos to four gambling zones in which casinos and slot halls were ultimately concentrated. The bill had two parts. Part one established standards for casinos, such as minimum capitalization and space and facility requirements. This section went in effect in July 2007, and casinos that didn’t meet the minimum requirement had to shut down immediately. The remaining casinos had until July 2009, when the second part of the bill went into effect, to cease or move operations to approved zones. Some local governments took the initiative and began shutting down smaller properties almost immediately after the passage of the bill. It is estimated that over 2,200 Russian casinos were closed in 2006 as a result of this law.

In July 2007, the first part of the casino bill went into effect in 38 regions. Under this law, punishment for operating an illegal gambling hall is a fine of 3,000-12,000 rubles (USD 100-400).

In January 2008, local officials closed over 300 slot machine halls in St. Petersburg. Regional legislation supplementing federal law prohibited slot halls in the city, and casinos were permitted to continue operating until 30 June 2009.

In December 2008, government officials announced that more than 1,000 casinos with assets of less than USD 23 million had been closed in Moscow as a result of the new law.

The four core gambling zones created in 2009 were in Kaliningrad (Yantarnaya), Primorsky Krai (Primorye), Altai Krai (Sibirskaya Moneta) and the Azov City area in Krasnodar Krai, with Sochi and Crimea later added in 2014. However, Azov City was later ordered closed in favour of developing the Krasnaya Polyana zone near Sochi, and the Crimean zone has seen only limited development, so that by the mid-2020s the only fully operating gambling zones are Krasnaya Polyana (Sochi), Sibirskaya Moneta (Altai), Primorye (near Vladivostok) and Yantarnaya (Kaliningrad).

Casino operators need to apply for licenses to move their businesses. The zones are strictly enforced, and after 1 July 2009, casinos and slot halls operating outside the zones were forced to close.

In May 2007, Russian Sports Minister Vyacheslav Fetisov classified poker as a game of skill rather than a game of chance under the authority of the casino bill. This classification would have allowed card rooms to operate freely without adhering to the geographical restrictions placed on casinos once the ban went into effect. To prevent casinos from operating as poker clubs, the Sports Ministry changed its stance and excluded poker from its official list of recognized sports in July 2009.

All casinos outside the approved zones closed in July 2009; subsequent development focused on large integrated resorts such as the properties in Primorye, Krasnaya Polyana and Yantarnaya that now form the backbone of Russia’s licensed casino offering.

By 2026 there were six regions where gambling is permitted. The latest one being the Altai region, where gambling was legalized on May 2nd 2026.