Ladbrokes Joins Exodus from Russia

Due to an exclusionary statute of UK and EU law, UK bookmaker Ladbrokes is joining the iGaming exodus from the otherwise vast Russian market.

EU Exclusion

A UK and EU requirement mandating that all operators applying for UK licenses stay away from countries where online gambling is illegal has caused the departures by iGaming operators, who have been instructed by the UK to limit their involvement in grey market areas to not over 3% of their total revenues if they want their UK licensing applications approved.

Ladbrokes Withdrawals

By the same logic, Ladbrokes is also withdrawing from other countries with grey area operation such as Finland, Romania and Portugal, after leaving Canada and a number of other European markets, last year including Hungary, Norway and Switzerland. A Ladbrokes spokesperson explained the trend:

“We continually review our presence in markets according to legal advice and regulatory conditions. This is an ongoing process and the markets we have withdrawn from are not material.”

While the concern over the new stigma that the UK licensing requirement places on grey market regions, to characterize all the markets Ladbrokes has withdrawn from as not material is a stretch when it comes to Russia, representing a national market of 143 million people. However, the economic stability of the Russian ruble and President Putin's increasing anti-gambling stance undoubtedly contributed to Ladbroke's unwillingness to continue in Russia.

Other Grey Markets Strong

While the loss of a market the size of Russia's may appear as a significant deduction to the global market, there are still significant grey area markets where iGaming providers continue to operate comfortably, undoubtedly because of the confidence they have in these countries effectively adapting gambling regulation legislation (i.e. Australia, Brazil) or allowing it to continue without conflict to the national laws (i.e. China, India).