Residents of Nizhny Novgorod were told how the new self-exclusion law will help compulsive gamblers.

      03 January 2026 14:00 Society President of Russia Vladimir Putin at the end of December 2025 signed a law allowing citizens to voluntarily restrict access to gambling. The document, developed by deputies from all leading factions of the State Duma, is aimed at combating gambling addiction, which destroys the lives of thousands of people.

      How the self-exclusion mechanism works

      Under the law, any Russian can add themselves to a special list of persons who have refused to participate in gambling. To do this, one must submit an application via the "Gosuslugi" portal to the public-law company "Unified Regulator of Gambling".

      There are a number of conditions: early withdrawal of the application is not possible; the minimum duration of the ban is 12 months; it is necessary to provide bank details for the return of funds on bets for events that have not yet taken place.

      After being entered into the register, all legal bookmakers and totalizators are obliged to block any attempts to place a bet on behalf of that person. Removal from the list occurs automatically after the set period ends.

      What is happening with gambling addiction in Russia

      The situation with gambling addiction raises serious concerns. According to the Russian Ministry of Finance for 2025, about 15 million Russians are registered with bookmaker services, and almost half of them regularly lose money. Experts believe the actual number of addicts may be even higher.

      "Every year there are more and more gambling addicts. Games are becoming increasingly accessible; they are aimed at the widest segments of the population. Do not think that there aren't women, children and the elderly here. They are there," said Sergey Perevozchikov, founder of a chat for gambling addicts, on the show "Po Faktam".

      By the end of the year it turned out that revenues from the gambling industry, including sports betting, exceeded Moscow's annual budget. Taking into account the shadow sector, the amount reached about five trillion rubles.

      Players' losses are not only money. Gambling addiction often leads to personal tragedy: divorces, dismissals, ruined credit histories, and in the most severe cases — suicides.

      How effective is self-exclusion

      Psychologist Grigory Misyutin, in a conversation with 360.ru, explained that the basis of addiction lies not only in the desire for easy money but also in deep psychological attitudes. Among them are the belief in luck and the illusion of control over the outcome.

      According to him, gambling platforms use a "variable reinforcement schedule", in which the brain receives pleasure from an unexpected win. This is what makes the addiction particularly strong.

      Gambling creates the illusion of solving problems, helping to hide inner anxiety, emptiness, or pain, but in reality only worsens the condition, the specialist emphasized.

      Misyutin described the self-exclusion law as an important but not exhaustive step. He believes it is a good barrier that allows one to slow down the path to betting, giving the heightened urge a chance to subside. However, this is not enough for true recovery.

      "This is just part of the mosaic. The other parts lie in understanding the reasons that push a person to gamble. Internal work is needed, possibly with the help of specialists. You must find the source of anxiety, emptiness, or pain and try to eliminate it," the psychologist noted.

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