Guide to Online Sports Betting in Russia | FASTMM
How to Make Money on Betting in Russia?
You can't. Seriously - you can't. To better understand this, let's discuss how a bookmaker works.
In simple terms - there's you and your betting opponent. The bookmaker takes your bets and takes a commission - 5%. What happens in the long run? You win some, you lose some. But in reality - you're just moving money from one player to another. The bookmaker rubs their hands, taking 5% each time, while your balance melts away.
The bookmaker's goal is to provide you with the most convenient service. To make the game as simple as possible, as frequent as possible (... and their turnover as maximum as possible =).
How to be profitable in these conditions? You need to play significantly better than others. If you're just slightly better - your income will still be wiped out by that 5% margin. You need to be significantly better. How?
For example, by having insider information. Or knowing something before the betting operator...
This puts you in the 'bad client' category. Why?
Besides the fact that you're taking advantage of others with your insider information (making the bet essentially unfair), you're creating problems for the bookmaker itself. Basically, there are two types of insider information.
In the first case, you have information shortly before others learn about it, meaning you bet live on something that will soon become irrelevant. The bookmaker will make opposite odds more attractive, but no one will have time to bet on them. As a result, you might win, but no one will lose a similar amount. This means the bookmaker will have to pay out of their own pocket.
In the second case, you have information well in advance, meaning you bet pre-match on some fixed (322) story. Can you know the outcome of Faze vs Vitality? No.. If you know anything, it will be some exotic unpopular game that almost no one bets on. This means your bet won't be compensated, and if it wins - again, the bookmaker will have to pay out of their own pocket.
As you might guess, bookmakers don't like losing money and will fight with all available means:
They will 'cut your account' - i.e., limit your maximum bet. To roll over your balance, you'll have to bet on more different events (and there you don't have insider information, so you'll be wiped out by the 5%)
They might ban you completely by closing your account
I wanted to highlight that even if you really knew something, you still wouldn't get anything in the long run (except problems ;). The bookmaker quickly detects anomalies in your bets and starts cutting your account. Then you end up in this mess where you need to involve someone (relatives, friends, acquaintances) to place bets for you... You face deception, distrust, and so on.
But in reality, almost all 'sports predictions' and 'fixed match channels' are pure fraud. 'Signal sellers' simply create many accounts at once, place bets on different combinations, and then only show the option that actually won.
Features of National Fishing, or Betting in Russia
There's another significant risk that can't be ignored - verification. As clear from the above:
For the bookmaker, 'bad clients' mean losing money. And they quickly identify them.
Having lost the ability to play from their account, 'bad clients' start looking for those in whose name they can continue betting.
Accordingly, the bookmaker is materially interested in a special, additional verification procedure to ensure they're dealing with an independent player. Moreover, the bookmaker is also responsible for identity verification according to the laws of the Russian Federation.
In practice, this means that in the user agreement with any legal bookmaker, you'll find a clause like this:
The gambling organizer reserves the right to request documents from the Client to confirm the Client's registration data and suspend the payment of winnings until the registration data is confirmed.
Or even this:
If the Company has doubts about the accuracy of the information about the Participant's identity, address, credit or debit card details, the Company may request any documents from the Participant that the Company deems necessary to confirm the provided information. Until the satisfactory result of checking all provided documents, the Company may withhold payments or restrict withdrawals from the gaming account.
Hmm... any documents, feel it?) If not - here's an analogy. I take a hundred thousand rubles from you, take it quickly and decisively. But I return it - on my terms. I can ask for some document, say a contract with a mobile operator. Then another document... I can keep asking and asking :)
Does this happen in practice? Yes. Read reviews on popular sites, for example on 'Rating of Bookmakers', there's plenty of this:
I topped up my account with 1000 USD, placed a bet at 1.3 odds, then decided to test the withdrawal process. My request was pending for over an hour, then canceled, and verification began. No other bookmaker has ever asked me for that many documents. Either the company is unable to pay (which I doubt, given that their profits are in the hundreds of millions), or they simply don’t want to pay players. After 3 weeks of this ordeal, I gave up and lost all the money.
In Conclusion
How to make money? You can't.
Are bets normal or scary? It's better not to get involved with bets, but a healthy attitude towards them is normal. If you're sitting in a stadium and want to add emotions - that's normal. If you're watching Spirit vs Vitality, rooting for Spirit, but betting on Vitality to be happy with any outcome - that's normal. Popularizing betting, stories about 'expensive-rich' through betting, getting people hooked on gambling - that's scary.
How to play then?
Your enemy is the long distance that eats away at your deposit with its margin. Accordingly - you need to play rarely :) Accept the loss of this money immediately, and if you win - withdraw.
Withdraw often. Remember - only the money in your bank account is yours. Don't count on money lying with the bookmaker. When withdrawing, verification may be required, which people, according to reviews, can take months to complete.
Where?
