Russia Gambling News

Russia was once the most important market for most online poker operators. Its demographic combination of high education and relatively low average income compared to European countries has made low- and mid-stakes grinding a viable profession for many Russians.

However, the country’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine complicated matters. Its local gambling laws already made it a gray market for online poker, albeit one that was too valuable to pass up. As Western countries began boycotts in response to the war, many operators deemed it too big of a compliance risk and ceased their operations.

PokerStars‘ departure from Ukraine cemented its loss of number-one status to GGPoker. Although the latter pulled its namesake site out of Russia, other skins connected to the same network stayed, most notably PokerOK. 

Retail gambling in Russia is only legal in four designated tourism zones: Altai, Kaliningrad, Sochi, and Vladivostok. That includes poker. Before the Ukraine war, Sochi in particular was a poker destination, but international tour stops there have been cancelled.

Many top poker pros live or were born in Russia, including Alexander Kostritsyn, Artur Martirosyan, Anatoly Filatov, and Igor Kurganov.