Setting industry tongues a wag Tuesday was an unsourced report on the Poker777 site claiming that an unidentified Russian “league of poker amateurs” has grabbed the government bull by the horns and suggested a deal through which online poker would be legalised in return for paying handsome taxes to Putin’s coffers.
The news comes on the heels of official reports from the Russian Office of Prosecutions claiming that the government clampdown on illegal gambling has been successful, which many unlawful venues shuttered and almost a million slot machines seized (see previous reports).
The mysterious “league of poker amateurs” has reportedly made a proposal to the Ministry of Finance that barters legalisation for payment of a 13 percent tax on player winnings going forward, and a 20 percent tax paid by operators annually on their overall revenues.
The proposal is accompanied by suggested licensing and regulatory requirements intended to exclude criminal activity, minors and problem gamblers, along with ID requirements that involve punters having to prove their identity and age through the presentation of passports.
“The league hopes that the new legislation would also clarify whether Russians gamblers may have access to foreign online gaming platforms,” Poker777 concludes.