Results of the meeting between Vitaly Mutko and representatives of Russian betting and sports

As promised earlier, after the law regulating the relations between the Russian sports organizations and bookmaking companies entered into force, Vitaly Mutko held a meeting with market players. It took place on May 18.

The representative of the Russian Ministry of Sports gathered members of the First SRO, SRO Association of Bookmakers, minister of sport, and heads of the Federal Tax Service to discuss the further actions. Heads of federations, leagues, and football, basketball, handball, volleyball, hockey and table tennis unions were also present at the event.

The main statements of the meeting:

• The refusal of a federation to sign an agreement with bookmaking companies will be considered as a direct violation of the law.
• Fees to sports organizations will be exempt from 18% tax on commercial rights; they will refer to targeted funds.

Also, participants touched some relevant topics that will be reviewed during the next meetings. For example, if the total amount of the quarterly fee to leagues and federations is less than the obligatory 15 million rubles, there is a need for mechanisms to distribute the obtained difference. The First SRO and SRO of bookmakers offered some solutions to the issue.

The First SRO reps recommended distributing the remaining sum according to the percentage ratio of betting activity on various disciplines. Representatives of the SRO Association of Bookmakers believe that these funds should be invested in unpopular sports, as they require financing.

In the end of the meeting, a decision was taken to hold an additional meeting with leaders of the Russian betting market in the Ministry of Sports. It is planned to elaborate a strategy for eliminating regulations that are dubious for the industry and to develop a robust interaction system.