Reason for iPoker’s exit from Ukraine unclear
The sudden withdrawal of iPoker from the Ukraine comes as a big surprise, as, unlike to Russia, online gaming is legal and there were no regulatory developments in Ukraine yet.
Is the Ukraine planning to regulate online poker?
Nevertheless, this could be a clear sign that the Ukraine is trying to regulate the Online Gaming market. In December 2015 Oleksandr Danyliuk, the Ministry of Finance of the Ukraine, drafted legislation aimed at regulating online gambling.
Even though there hasn’t been any news on the development of the bill, this could be the reason for iPoker’s withdrawal. The network might speculate that the market indeed will get regulated soon and that this move will give them a higher chance to get a licence.
The legal situation in Russia
In contrast to the Ukraine, online gaming is illegal in Russia. Although the Russian superstar Anatoly Filatov said in our interview, that online poker will be legalized in Russia, the government has recently taken some major steps against it.
In December 2014 the state issued the so-called Bill 478806-6, which is an amendment to Article 171-2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It increased the penalties on everybody, who is involved in gambling and therefore deemed online poker to be illegal.
Last year the Russian telecoms regulator Roskomnadzor then compiled a blacklist of internet sites among them several online gaming companies and even Wikipedia! After that, they even shut down several online gaming sites.
In October 2015 Russia introduced a new bill, which officially should amend the country’s anti-money laundering laws. However, it is believed that the bill’s main goal is to ban online gaming.
It makes it impossible for poker players to fund accounts with the illegal online poker rooms plus it recently als turned its attention to payment processing companies like NETELLER or Skrill.
As a consequence three key skins Coral Poker, Gala Poker and Mansion Poker now decided to withdraw online poker from Russia.
Nevertheless, there are still the majority of the best online poker rooms in the world operating in the Ukraine and in Russia.
That’s why we have listed the best alternatives for Ukrainian and Russian players below:
The best rakeback deals for Ukrainian players
888poker
We are offering a fantastic deal with massive extra value for 888poker:
- Get $88 for free, no deposit needed
- Up to $400 First Deposit Bonus
- VIP Leaderboard
- 4 Private Freerolls per month
The best rakeback deals for Russian Players
On top of the two recommended deals above, there are still several great iPoker skins operating in the Russian market.
We recommend Winner Poker for Russian players as it is our highest % iPoker rakeback deal:
Winner Poker
- 60% Rakeback by RPV
- Access to our private $45,000 VIP Leaderboard
- Access to our exclusive $30,000 August Battle
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