Medvedev has toughened penalties for illegal gambling

 The document toughens penalties for illegal gambling organization and arrangement, including via the Internet or mobile communications. In addition, the law will help ensure uniformity of law enforcement and judicial practices in combating these types of offenses. The bill will supplement the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offences with new articles on criminal and administrative responsibility of the perpetrators involved in the illegal gambling business outside of specialized gambling zones.

The amendments were made to the Articles 280, 282.1 and 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The persons accused according to the above articles may now be forbidden to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a longer period of time. For violation of gambling laws common individuals will face a fine of 3,000-5,000 rubles, the officials - 30,000-50,000 and legal persons -700,000-1,000,000 rubles. Gambling equipment to be confiscated in all of the above cases. If profits from illegal gambling activities exceed 500,000 rubles the offender may face criminal penalties of 3-6 years in prison. In addition, tougher responsibility is introduced for the crimes of extreme nature.

RGW