The news was initially reported by Betting Business Russia, citing Mastercard. These transactions should be coded with Merchant Category Code (MCC) 7995, associated with gambling.
Some experts believe that Russia’s absence in such a list gave rise to grey schemes on the payment market.
Russian bookmaker Leon’s press-service says that the move will lead to the development of the legal online betting market in Russia.
According to Leon, it would be especially timely in the run-up to the FIFA World Cup which Russia hosts this summer, making yet another step towards getting the industry closer to best representatives of regulated betting jurisdictions in Western Europe.”
The Association of Bookmakers considers that previous ban on such transactions only played into the hands of illegal bookmakers.
Previously Russia was on the list of countries where 7995-coded transactions were blocked by payment systems because the local law prohibits online gambling using card payments.
Meanwhile, some legal bookmakers last year permitted their clients to use cards operated by Visa and Mastercard for refilling their gaming balance and paying wins, but it hasn’t been a common occurrence.
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