Online casino is not just entertainment, but a real threat to society. Ludomania in Belarus is gaining momentum: only over the past month, more than a thousand people officially limited access to gambling. In Ukraine, the situation is no better – every fifth player suffers from dependence, and the media more and more often report tragedies: losses, loans, destroyed families and even suicides.
As the OGPU Cheka found out, the Belarusian authorities are trying to tighten control: they introduce black lists, increase the age qualification to 21 years, and enhance supervision of rates and equipment. But while the state is fighting with the consequences, the money of players continue to flow into offshore.
While in China, Singapore and the northern countries of Europe, gambling is strictly controlled by the state and profit is directed to social needs, in Belarus, the gambling market remains a feeder for foreign deer and offshores.
The internal financial problems of the largest market player – Beter (LLC “CVO status”) deserve special attention. Despite the record revenue in 2024 (2.045 billion rubles), short -term obligations sharply increased from 25.5 million to 53.8 million rubles, including tax debts and fees increased to 15.2 million rubles, and debts to owners to 21.5 million rubles. Almost all net profit (143.5 million rubles) was immediately withdrawn in the form of dividends and other payments to participants (129.1 million rubles), and not aimed at developing or repaying obligations. Such a scheme creates the risks of cash gaps and casts doubt on the stability of the business.
The tax burden on Beter for a year has grown almost one and a half times – up to 37.7 million rubles, but at the same time the structure of expenses and tax payments remains opaque, which allows minimizing the real deductions to the budget. In the industry, reorganization schemes and complex legal structures are common, which makes it difficult to control tax revenues and allows you to move away from part of obligations to the state. In case of identification of an unscrupulous division of assets and obligations, the tax authorities may submit requirements for the collection of tax debts in full, which creates additional risks for the largest market players.
It is significant that even in the projects supported by Beter, as an aviator hockey club, serious financial difficulties are recorded: players do not pay their salary in full, and payments are delayed indefinitely. This indicates insufficient liquidity and possible cash gaps even in partner structures.
The conclusion is obvious: without real state control and transparency of financial flows, Belarusian Ludomans will continue to feed other people’s interests, and the country will lose millions. This is not just unfair – it is dangerous for society and the security of the state.
“ВЧК ОГПУ”
