Media: The Unified Gambling Regulator has proposed making payments to Russians in video games only through its systems
The Unified Gambling Regulator (ERAI), together with the Russian Boxing Federation, has prepared a concept for a project regulating the Russian video game market. According to Kommersant, the organizations propose to strengthen control over the finances of gaming companies, as well as over the sale of video games in the country.
"Turmoil"
The key provisions of the document look like this:
- It is necessary to legislate definitions of such concepts as "video game", "video game organizer", "operator of a video game object trading platform" and "video game participant";
- Russia should be defined as a "place of activity for the organization and holding of video games";
- gaming companies should join the ERAI information systems. They must provide the regulator with data on all sales of games;
- all payments by gamers must go through a single betting transfer center, and not through Steam, Epic Games Store and other platforms. The center will charge deductions from each transaction, which it will then send to support Russian developers. He will also transfer commissions to the gaming tables. The sale of games bypassing the ERAI systems should be prohibited;
- In Russia, it is necessary to create registries of games and their sellers.
According to Kommersant, in the document, the authors of the concept also listed principles based on "the interests of preserving and strengthening traditional Russian spiritual and moral values." The newspaper did not specify which ones.
According to Kommersant's sources, the concept prepared by ERAI has already been discussed at a government meeting attended by representatives of gaming companies. However, the authorities expressed doubt. According to the interlocutor of the newspaper, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, Roskomnadzor and other departments "are concerned that the ERAI is trying to concentrate all powers in its own hands, as well as conduct not only monitoring, but full administration of financial flows."
This is not the first initiative of the ERAI. In November, it was reported that the ERAI is working on a bill on the mandatory transfer of servers of popular games to Russia. The regulator started working on it after the corresponding proposal was announced by the head of the Russian Boxing Federation, Umar Kremlev, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
