Top Live Casinos in Russia

Russia, officially known as the Russian Federation is a country located in both Eastern Europe, and North Asia. With over 17 million square kilometers, it is the largest country in the world, and it covers around one-eight of the Earth's inhabited area.

Russia has eleven time zones and shares its borders with sixteen countries. With a population of around 146 million people, it is the most populous country in Europe. Moscow, its capital, is the largest city in Europe.

Russia is considered to be a world superpower. It ranks highly in the Human Development Index, as it has a universal healthcare system, and free university education. The economy is the eleventh largest in the world by nominal GDP. Russia is known for its possession of nuclear weapons, it has the largest stockpile in the world, with the Russian military being the world’s second most powerful. It is also one of the leading producers of natural gas globally.

The Constitution of Russia places the country as an asymmetric federation and semi-presidential republic, where the President is the official head of state, while the Prime Minister is the head of government. Formally, Russia is structured as a multi-party representative democracy.

From 1928 to 1989 all forms of gambling were illegal in the Soviet Union. This all started to loosen up in 1988 when slot machines were allowed in certain locations, and in 1989 all gambling activities became legal and allowed across the country.

This allowed for a surge in land-based casinos opening, and in 2002 there were over 50 casinos just in Moscow. Evidently, the popularity of gambling was rising rapidly and the Government felt obliged to control the situation. That is why in 2006 a law was brought forward which banned all types of online gambling.

In 2009, the Russian Government additionally decided to limit land-based gambling too, and casino gambling was allowed in four Russian regions: Kaliningrad, Krasnodar, Altai, and Primorsky. All gambling activity in the rest of the country was prohibited.

Then, in 2012, the Supreme Court of Russia decided that all online betting operators should be blocked, and a special regulatory body called Roskomnadzor was created in order to track down illegal online betting activity and blocking sites.

But, as mentioned before, certain offshore operators still exist and provide their services to Russian players, and the Government decides not to take any action against them, so Russian players can enjoy their access to these sites.

The good thing in the illegal online gambling market in Russia is that players can still gamble on offshore live and online casinos without facing repercussions for it. Because of this, the popularity of online casinos in Russia is rising every day, with more and more young people having access to a mobile phone, the internet, and so on.

The pressure on the government to legalize online casinos is increasing every day, and it is understandably why. The benefits that come from regulating and legalizing online gambling are immense – the Government will be able to collect taxes, together with the possibility of employing a huge number of people in this sector. This way, online gambling will become a massive factor and contributor to the Russian economy.

When it comes to the players, even though the Government does not charge them with criminal offenses when accessing offshore operators, the fear is still there, and more importantly, the possibility to access an insecure website that can be fraudulent is bigger this way. If legalized, there will be certain mechanisms that will block unlicensed websites and make sure the players are safe when gambling, and having a seamless gaming experience.

Live casinos are booming in the world, and if regulated, it is expected to be the same in Russia. These casinos offer a whole variety of live dealer games which are growing in popularity in Russia, and players spend a significant amount of time playing them.

In 2009, the Russian government received a report that said that gambling is connected to organized crime and money laundering. Immediately after receiving the report, the Government decided to sanction a nationwide ban on gambling, believing that it is the only appropriate way to deal with the upcoming gambling social issues.

With certain time passing, the Government realized that this nationwide ban could have a negative impact on tourism and the public image of Russia, so they designated four states in the country where gambling will be allowed: Kaliningrad, Krasnodar, Altai, and Primorsky.

As for live casinos, the situation is a bit more complicated. Online gambling is completely banned in Russia, with even a special agency created to hunt down illegal gambling sites and shut them down – Roskomnadzor. At one point, the agency couldn’t keep up with the emerging sites, with mirror domains coming up all the time, so the Government temporarily suspended Google, as it believed to be helping live casinos promote in Russia.

Nevertheless, offshore live casinos are still available in the country, and players can play their favorite games there, with the Government seemingly not charging anyone for doing so, even though it is prohibited. The Government realized that they can't completely control the market, so they allow certain offshore gambling sites to offer their services to Russian players.

The number of live dealer casino games available for Russian players is usually a bit smaller than the table games offer, but there is still a good number of live games to choose from. For a start, a player will be able to find many versions of live dealer roulette to play, including the American, European, and French roulette, together with 10p roulette and many others.

Blackjack is the second favorite live dealer game for the Russian players, as it has many variations, from classic seven-seat to VIP high limit. On the sites, there are also instructions on how to play these games. Along with this, the live poker games, such as Texas Hold’em, Caribbean Stud, Three-Card Poker are all available and the best live dealer casinos.

If the player is searching for a game of good, old Baccarat then there is a rich pick of dealer squeeze, player-controlled squeeze, speed deals, and the standard, old version of the game. The other live dealer games available and popular are live dealer Craps, live dealer Dragon Tiger and live dealer game shows such as Monopoly Live, Dear or No Deal Live, and Football Studio.

Aside from enjoying live casino games, Russian players do have a tendency to try their luck on certain online casino selections of games. As is the case in the rest of the world, slot games are extremely popular in Russia. The regular versions of online poker and blackjack are also accessed and played by Russian players quite often.

In searching for these games, players need to make sure they register to a valid and reliable offshore online casino, so they avoid being subject to any type of fraud.

Before deciding to use certain bonuses, Russian players need to go through the terms and conditions for every single one of them. Welcome bonuses tend to have the most T&C, and they are available only for the newly registered players.

The welcome bonus also requires certain wagering requirements that need to be met by the player, and the player needs to make a minimum deposit in order to be eligible for this bonus. These deposits and these rules vary from one operator to another.

Cashback bonuses are pretty simple to use, all the player needs to do is play the selected game in a certain period. These bonuses in every site in Russia have minimum and maximum amounts that can be withdrawn.

Live casino bonuses usually require players to enter a bonus code upon claiming the bonuses.

Other, less popular payment methods in Russia include direct bank transfers, e-checks, and prepaid vouchers. The main reason for them not being as popular as the previously mentioned payment option is the slow deposit and withdrawal procedure.

Direct bank transfers are pretty safe but are time-consuming and it can take up to five business days for the transaction to go through, and withdrawals may take even longer. Similarly, electronic checks, known as eChecks can be an extremely safe way of depositing money, but it takes up to three days for the deposit to be completed, and it can be up to a month for a withdrawal to go through.

Paysafecard is a prepaid voucher system that allows players to deposit money pretty easily, but the withdrawal process is a bit more complicated, as a player will not be able to withdraw money without entering the bank or credit/debit card details.