Russia’s regulated sports betting market could triple its turnover over the next five years thanks to new market entrants and high-profile sports events like the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Russian gambling affiliate Bookmakers Ratings recently issued a new report that pegged current annual turnover of the Russian betting market at around RUB 677b (US $11.75b), of which around 60% is claimed by Russian-licensed operators. Annual betting revenue in this country of 144m people is estimated at RUB 47b (US $816m).

The report projects that the growing number of licensed online bookmakers, coupled with interest driven by Russian-hosted marquee sports events – such as this year’s Confederations Cup and next year’s FIFA World Cup – and new rules permitting bookmakers’ sports sponsorship opportunities, could push the legal betting market’s annual turnover to RUB 1.3t ($22.5b) by 2022.

The report notes that roughly 65% of Russian bettors continue to patronize unauthorized internationally licensed online gambling operators. Yuri Krasovsky, president of bookmaker Liga Stavok, estimates this figure is closer to 80%.