Russia iGaming industry adds Mastercard as payment option

Online gaming companies that legally operate in Russia will add payments options with MasterCard.

Russia.- Russian authorities revealed latest decision related to iGaming industry’s growth in the local market, with the addition of payments options. According to Betting Business Russia, transactions made in licensed online gaming platforms in Russia will be coded with Merchant Category Code (MCC) 7995, which is associated with gambling. Currently, iGaming operations with credit cards are illegal in the country.

The local newspaper confirmed the transactions will be operated through MasterCard’s platforms. Russian bookmaker Leon’s press-service says that the move “will have a positive effect on the development of the legal online betting market in Russia,” as reported by AGBrief. The new payment method will be installed before the World Cup, which will be held in Russia next June. Leon commented that the decision is “yet another step towards getting the industry closer to best representatives of regulated betting jurisdictions in Western Europe.”

Head of the self-regulated organisation Association of Bookmakers Darina Denisova also commented: “Upon coming into force, the decision of the payment system will help our legal online operators attract even more clients.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications (Roskomnadzor) has urged virtual private networks (VPN) services to set stricter conditions of access to international websites, including online gaming platforms.