New casino transaction payment system to go live in Russia

The aim of all online gamblers is to make a little (or a lot) of extra cash. It’s no surprise then that the biggest concern for many online punters is how their money is handled during transactions.

A new payment system that has been designed and approved by the Russian government, called TSUPIS, is set to go live by the end of March 2016. 

As licensed betting finally becomes a reality in Russia, the new payment system will be at the forefront of all withdrawals and deposits. In fact, the system has been in set in place and is mandatory to all who plan to gamble online within Russia.

The system, that is said to function in a similar way to Skrill and Neteller, will allow the Russian government complete access to view all winnings in accounts held by players. It’s not clear yet, but the government could decide to tax these winnings.
 

The first of its kind

The very first online sports betting operator to be awarded a license within Russia is Liga Stavok. It’s very likely to be the first of many new online betting options for Russian residents. It also could mean the regulation of online poker in Russia in coming months.

Russia is under financial strain and in the middle of 2015, President Vladimir Putin ordered that a study be conducted to see whether taxes generated through online betting could help fund sporting bodies.
 

Is poker a gambling game?

While positive results were found during the study, online poker is still being treated as a separate case and many dispute whether it constitutes as gambling at all or merely as a game of skill.

The head of the Russian Chess Federation, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, believes that poker could be classified as along with chess as a “mind sport”.

“There are no reasons that it should be hidden and illegal. I’ve prepared my proposals concerning legalization of online poker in Russia and have presented them to the Russian government. And I am working together with the government in order to allow online poker to become an intellectual sport in Russia,” said Ilyumzhinov. 

“I support the idea that the sport of poker should be a member of IMSA. It is a sport which requires an intellect and intelligence, psychological training. I am in talks with various poker associations about it.”