Shadow industry

Despite a general ban on commercial gambling, there is a "grey" outline on the mainland: underground gambling halls, offshore online venues and nets of agents offering proxy bets and lines of credit.

Traffic is attracted through closed groups in instant messengers, "private" links, advertising in niche communities and cashback schemes.

The financial part is built around cashing, splitting payments and using intermediaries; in separate cases, e-wallets and stablecoins are used as a tool for avoiding locks and control.

The practices of debt "commissions," fake winning screens and manipulation of coefficients are widespread.

The risks are high: non-payment, fraud, data leaks, involvement in illegal financial transactions.

The state systematically puts pressure on the "shadow": blocks domains and payment channels, conducts raids against underground halls and networks of intermediaries, suppresses advertising and "drop accounts," strengthens AML/KYC and digital analytics, punishes participation in cross-border gambling.

The final trend is the constant shift of the "shadow" into more closed, fragmented channels with increased operational and legal danger for players and organizers.