Illegal gambling is more profitable for the budget of Moscow than legal

As Acting Head of Moscow Department of Regional Security Alexei Mayorov reported, from the beginning of the year budget of Moscow received 28 million RUB of taxes from legal gambling business (bookmakers and betting), and 58 million RUB of fines – from illegal gambling business.

According to his information, 445 betting shops and 15 totalizers operated in Moscow legally. In addition, 12 betting shop and two totalizer processing center are registered in the capital.

Nobody knows precisely how many illegal establishments there are in Moscow, but Mayorov said that some open dozens of times on one and the same place, as their rate of return by far covers fines and even purchase of new equipment, if police arrests the property. They also open criminal cases against the organizers of illegal casinos - from the beginning of the year they opened 38, 9 of them are referred to court. At the same time 16 casinos and 620 computer clubs are closed.

Gambling business in Russia outside of specially designated gambling zones (most of them are still vacant) was banned at the initiative of President Vladimir Putin in 2006. Prior to that gross revenue of casinos and slot machines halls was about 5-6 billion a year, entrepreneurs, as well as in other business, paid social taxes from the salary of employees, income tax and others.