Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially signed legislation calling for a dramatic overhaul of the country’s online sports betting market. 

On Wednesday, Putin signed a raft of laws imposing stricter oversight of Russia’s internet, including authorizing the Roskomnadzor telecom watchdog to block online resources deemed to be ‘discriminating’ against Russian media (aka Facebook, Twitter and YouTube), while also requiring biometric information from customers seeking to access certain financial and public services. 

But for Russian bookmakers, the focus was on Putin signing a bill that lawmakers approved earlier this week calling for the creation of a Unified Gambling Regulator and the abolition of the two Self-Regulatory Organizations (SROs) that previously represented locally licensed betting interests. 

The bill also calls for the establishment of a single centralized payment processing hub, through which all Russian online betting must flow. This hub will replace the two existing payment hubs run by the two rival SROs, and will be controlled by a single private company.