Russia’s newest online sports betting operator comes courtesy of a license issued to bookmaker William Hill, although not the William Hill you’re thinking of.

On Thursday, Russia welcomed its 21st licensed online bookmaker, Pin-Up.ru, which is currently offering wagers on both real-world major league activity and the eSports variety. The site is a member of the Bookmakers Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO), all of whose members use the Qiwi processor to handle payments for their customers.  

Pin-Up.ru is operated by Moscow-based William Hill LLC, which was issued a Russian betting license way back in 2014. This Hills was set up in the expectation of some kind of joint venture partnership with the UK bookmaker of the same name, but nothing ever came of these plans and the Russian firm has finally decided to go it alone. 

Russia recently approved legislation modifying the rules for local betting operators, which took effect on September 30. Among the new rules is a requirement for all holders of ‘dormant’ betting licenses to either launch a functioning business within six months or surrender the license, so here we are.