In Belarus, more than 20 offline casinos operate, and a separate market segment is formed by licensed online platforms. Among them, Belbet occupies a special place, legally structured as an electronic lottery and part of the state-owned RUE Belarusian Lotteries.
WHO OWNS THE LARGEST CASINOS
According to the Telegram channel Payment SHCHIT in the CIS, one of the country's largest offline casinos is Shangri La. The establishment belongs to companies registered in Cyprus, which are linked to businessman Alexei Oleksin, who previously held a government post.
Minsk's H Casino is linked to Turkish businessman Egemen Mustafa Shener. Two other major establishments — the Opera casino in Minsk and M1 on the border of Belarus and Russia — belong to Russian entrepreneurs.
HOW MUCH THE GAMBLING INDUSTRY EARNS
Annual tax revenues from Belarus's gambling industry amount to around $40 million, or 0.4% of the budget's tax revenues.
At the same time, the online segment already has a clearly formed legal infrastructure. The Ministry of Taxes and Levies of Belarus listed nine organisations that have been granted licences to organise and conduct gambling on the internet: Winline, BetCity, Fonbet, Marathonbet, 1xBet, Betera, Maxline and Grand Casino.
WHY BELBET IS CALLED A LOTTERY
Belbet was launched on 1 February 2019 as a republican instant electronic lottery. The organiser is RUE Belarusian Lotteries, and the certificate of registration of the electronic lottery was issued by the Ministry of Finance of Belarus. This is also confirmed by the platform's published contract.
It was precisely the distinction between a lottery and a gambling game that mattered for regulation: different requirements applied to electronic lotteries than to virtual casinos.
An investigation by Belsat, based on documents provided by BELPOL, provides additional financial details. According to the planned targets for 2023, the total revenue of Belarusian Lotteries was planned to be around 4.635 billion Belarusian roubles, of which 4.629 billion roubles came from Belbet. That is, the electronic lottery accounted for around 99.8% of the enterprise's planned revenue.
WHY THE QUESTION OF AGE VERIFICATION AROSE
Notably, initially Belbet did not require verification of users' age. After journalists' publications, age restrictions appeared on the platform.
This topic was also previously examined by the Belarusian Investigative Centre (BIC). In an investigation, the BIC put questions to Belarusian Lotteries, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Taxes and Levies about the procedure for verifying users' age and about why Belbet is classified as an online lottery despite mechanics that the investigators compared to an online casino.
WHY THE ONLINE BUSINESS DIFFERS FROM AN ORDINARY CASINO
The shift of the gambling business to the internet changes its economic model. An online platform does not need to maintain a full-fledged casino with halls, gaming tables, a large number of staff and other physical infrastructure.
As a result, the market has become divided between traditional casinos, private online operators and the state sector. At the same time, the digital format has gradually become an independent part of the Belarusian gambling industry, and Belbet has taken a separate position in this system thanks to its status as an electronic lottery.
CONTEXT
Previously, Belarus had already taken measures against participants in the illegal gambling market. In August, in Minsk, a 41-year-old citizen of Mongolia was detained, who was wanted by that country's law enforcement agencies in a case concerning the illegal conduct of gambling as part of an organised group.
At the same time, the Belarusian authorities are tightening control over the legal segment. The Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade (MART) reported that additional restrictions were being prepared on the placement and distribution of advertising for gambling establishments and games of chance.
Against this backdrop, particular attention is drawn to the case of the Pin-Up online casino in Kazakhstan, where a billion-rouble infrastructure passed through a network of affiliated companies — including Bonami LLP, which received a bookmaking licence — and part of the funds were subsequently converted into cryptocurrency via the Intebix exchange and withdrawn outside the country.