❌2009 was the most unfortunate year for the entire gambling industry in Russia. Games are going underground, and many professional players are leaving the country.

Efforts by the authorities to identify illegal gambling establishments continue. So, in February 2011, FSB officers covered a whole network of underground casinos in 15 cities near Moscow. According to the investigation, the income from them ranged from $ 5 million to $ 10 million per month😎

High-profile criminal cases with charges of “patronage” against employees of the Moscow Region Prosecutor's Office did not subside for several years. According to the organizers themselves, they had to give up to 80% of the profit⚖️

The main defendant in the case turned out to be the former deputy prosecutor of the Moscow region, Alexander Ignatenko, who was detained by operatives in Poland.

"Casino Sochi" and the wind of change

After the amendments were made to the law on gambling in July 2014, construction began on the Sochi casino, which, according to the organizers, is to become the Russian Las Vegas.

Casino Sochi opened its doors in January 2017. 🎉Visitors were welcomed by a play area with an area of ​​33 thousand square meters and a capacity of 2,000 people. Over 70 card tables and a separate poker club.

🃏The first major poker tournament in a new location was held in January 2017. It was the Eurasian Poker Tour series of 25 tournaments in various formats. The prize pool was $ 500,000. And in March 2017, the Partypoker Million Sochi series took place, in which the guaranteed prize pool reached $1,000,000.

The Sochi Poker Club has become the main venue for poker events in Russia. By the beginning of 2020, the organizers had managed to host more than 4️⃣0️⃣ major tournament series there in partnership with industry leaders: PokerStars, partypoker, 888poker, Pokerdom, Poker Club Management, etc.

The emergence of a world-class poker site in Russia and the holding of tournaments inspires hopes that Russia will face legalization of poker in the future. In the meantime, the legislation is moving in a different direction.

💳In 2019, the authorities stepped up the fight against the online segment, introducing a ban on transactions at the bank level🔒 on transactions in almost all popular poker rooms.