Publication date: 16 Feb 2021

The eventful 2020 seems to be a long-run influencer steering bookmaking in Russia. Within one year only, the operators faced a temporary ban on sporting events, on-land sector lockdown, and, consequently, abrupt traffic drop leading to huge losses. The Government has also cracked down on the state regulation: betting on non-sporting events is now prohibited, the Tote regulation is conceptualized independently, and the new Regulator has been issued. As for royalties (deductions to sports organizations – event-makers), they have been twice multiplied. Despite that, according to some analysts, this sector shows pretty good adaptability and has a perfect chance to recuperate in 2021.

What will affect the bookmaking in the CIS in 2021?

The law on the Unified Gambling Regulator and procedure for calculating royalties will come into force in autumn, 2021. It is known that bookmakers used to pay out 15 million rubles per quarter to contribute to sport. Now these deductions are calculated proportionally, and subtracted from the revenue, separately for each type of sport these expenditures are expected to triple. The market looms less attractive for legal operators. New participants will have to break the wall to enter the market. As a result, this will enfeeble competition. The solution might come as a possible retraction of sponsorship deals with clubs, cutting down on the sports to bet, or/and rate reduction.

• Read along: Gambling Regulation in the CIS: changes in law. What’s new?

Also, costs might be diminished by the rejection of special offers and bonuses. Bonus is one of the most popular marketing implements to stretch a list of clients and retain old bettors. The most popular is freebet, which allows one to make a bet for free and to withdraw money prized. There is no immediate profit for a bookmaker, but they may benefit later on. On average, up to 15% of the bookmakers` profit is spent on bonuses. In 2021, bettors had better mind, bonuses will be outnumbered.

How does politics influence sport?

Another factor to impact on bookmaking is the 2021 Ice Hockey World Championship. Due to The International Ice Hockey Federation decision, Latvia will host the Championship, not Belarus… Therefore, the on-land sector will be suffering losses, while the e-market isn’t likely to suffer much. Those who are interested can legally bet on matches lined-up overseas via the Internet. The Ice Hockey World Championship starts on May 21, 2021. First forecasts are preheating the interest. According to Melbet, the front-runner is Canada’s squad (rating 3.20), whose position is followed by Russia (4.18) and Sweden (4.98). Current rating for Belarus – 51.00