Russia’s sports betting operators are bracing for another tax hike that could squeeze some smaller bookmakers out of the picture.

On Tuesday, Interfax reported on a discussion between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov during a recent meeting of the presidential council for the development of physical culture and sports.

Siluanov reportedly detailed the financial performances of Russian-licensed bookmakers in 2019, during which the minister claimed the bookies had collectively generated profits of RUB30b (US$383.2m).

The bookmakers reportedly kicked back RUB1.2b in required payments to Russian sports – at a current rate of 5% of revenue generated from each sport, payable on a quarterly basis to that sport’s federation – while paying taxes to the state of just RUB770m.