Russia targets VPNs over international gambling

The government of Russia aims at VPNs over their role in locals’ access to internationally licenced gambling websites.

Russia.- Restrictive regulations have never been an issue for online gambling access, mainly thanks to virtual private networks (VPN). As they grant access to blocked, international websites, they have been the key to bet with foreign operators. However, Russia is targeting VPNs as it clamps down on the iGaming segment.

Alexander Zharov, head of Russia’s telecom watchdog Roskomnadzor, announced it will block access to nine VPN companies. They had refused to connect their operations to the government’s Federal-State Information System (FGIS), aimed at restricting online activity.

The restrictions were passed in 2017 but, in March, Roskomnadzor warned 10 providers about not connecting to the FGIS. The only one that decided to comply was Kapersky Lab, a Russian based company.

According to Zharov, they have 30 days until they face a block, like VPN service HideMe already has. The company got hit in November 2016 and rebranded as HideMyName, but was also blocked. However, a Russian court overturned the judicial blocking order last month after HideMe said that Roskomnadzor refused to specify which sites were being improperly accessed.

Google’s recent fine

Russia hasn’t only targetted VPNs in regards to online gambling. In May, the Moscow Directorate of Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) revealed that it has found Google guilty of advertising a gambling company in Google AdWords. The watchdog released a statement in which it explains how the ad violated current regulations, Rapsi informed.

FAS detailed that the ads called for online gambling with certain clauses. Currently, gambling advertisement, including online casinos, is prohibited in Russia, the watchdog reiterated in the statement.

Google faces a fine of approximately €6.5k, though there is no other information about the penalty yet.