Russia’s lower house advanced a core digital-currency framework in a first reading on Tuesday, signaling a shift toward a regulated, state-supervised market for crypto activity. The draft law 1194918-8, titled “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights,” would begin to channel crypto trading through licensed intermediaries operating under the Bank of Russia’s oversight, with unlicensed platforms to face a ban in 2027 if enacted. According to official records cited by Cointelegraph, the measure aims to formalize a pathway for crypto commerce while preserving a prohibition on crypto payments within the domestic economy.

Alongside bill 1194918-8, another measure — 1194929-8 — passed its first reading on the same day as part of a broader legislative package aimed at restricting crypto trading to regulated venues. The two drafts together signal Moscow’s intent to move the market toward a licensed, state-supervised structure, even as important enforcement provisions remain unresolved. The Supreme Court weighed in separately on related criminalization efforts, underscoring a recognition that the full regulatory architecture has yet to be adopted.

Key takeaways

• Bill 1194918-8 would legalize crypto purchases and sales through approved intermediaries under Bank of Russia supervision, with the domestic market expected to operate within licensed channels as early as July; unlicensed platforms would be banned starting in July 2027 if the draft becomes law.
• Retail investors would face a framework that restricts access to the most liquid digital currencies defined by the central bank, subject to thresholds on market size, trading history, and a personal investment cap.
• The proposed thresholds require assets to demonstrate an average market capitalization above 5 trillion rubles, an average daily trading volume above 1 trillion rubles, and a trading history of at least five years over the two years preceding listing.
• Retail purchases would be limited to 300,000 rubles per year per intermediary, and a test would be required for retail investors seeking exposure to the restricted set of currencies.
• Residents would be allowed to buy crypto abroad through foreign accounts, provided those transactions are reported to tax authorities; the regime retains a strict prohibition on domestic crypto payments, in line with the 2021 law On Digital Financial Assets.
• Two criminal-penalty proposals, bills 1194944-8 and 1209607-8, seek liability and enforcement measures for unregistered digital-asset services, including registration requirements with the Bank of Russia; the Supreme Court characterized the latter as premature until a broader federal framework is adopted.

Russia’s regulatory architecture: licensing, oversight, and the path to licensure

According to official records cited by Cointelegraph, the core instrument of the package creates a system whereby domestic crypto activity would be funneled through intermediaries that meet regulatory and oversight criteria established by the Bank of Russia. The emphasis on licensing aligns with an overarching policy objective: to reduce unregulated trading and to bring digital-asset activity into a state-supervised framework. The bills explicitly couple the licensing regime with a prohibition on unregistered venues, signaling a centralized approach to market access and participant eligibility.

The two draft measures form part of a broader, multi-bill package described by lawmakers as a comprehensive effort to regulate digital assets in Russia. One companion bill, 1194929-8, passed its first reading concurrently, reinforcing the government’s intent to coordinate licensing, supervision, and compliance across the sector. While the legislative package appears to be advancing in principle, several critical enforcement provisions remain unsettled, raising questions about how the rules would be implemented, monitored, and adjudicated in practice.

Retail investor framework and market implications

The outlined retail framework introduces a calibrated approach to household participation in digital assets. By designating a subset of assets as eligible for retail investment — the “most liquid digital currencies” defined by the Bank of Russia — the regime seeks to balance investor access with risk controls tailored to the domestic market’s maturity. The proposed criteria, including a market-cap threshold, a minimum trading history, and a volumetric requirement, establish a screening mechanism intended to shield participants from assets with insufficient liquidity or longer track records.

From a compliance perspective, the regime implies measurable steps for exchanges and banks that participate in the licensed market. Intermediaries would be responsible for validating asset eligibility, enforcing investment caps, and conducting the investor-test process. A yearly cap of 300,000 rubles per intermediary places a ceiling on retail exposure, potentially affecting demand for certain assets and shaping the speed at which market participants, especially retail investors, can accumulate positions. For residents, the option to purchase crypto via foreign accounts—so long as transactions are reported to tax authorities—introduces a cross-border element that will require robust cross-border AML/KYC controls and tax reporting interoperability with domestic authorities.

Importantly, the regime preserves a strict prohibition on crypto payments within the domestic economy. That clause, anchored in the 2021 law On Digital Financial Assets, remains a core constraint on how digital currencies can function in everyday transactions. Analysts note that while the licensing pathway could usher digital-asset activity into a regulated frame, it could also push a portion of activity into the gray market if participants perceive the compliance burden as onerous or if access to eligible assets is perceived as limited. The enforcement gap highlighted by industry observers underscores a perennial regulatory risk: the balance between formalization and practicable compliance in a shifting market environment.

Enforcement considerations and judicial posture

Beyond the licensing framework, lawmakers introduced two criminal-penalty measures to address violations of the new rules, including unregistered digital-asset services and broader registration mandates with the Bank of Russia. The text of the measures suggests penalties that would carry fines and prison terms for non-compliance. However, the judiciary’s position nuanced the immediate path forward. In a formal review, the Supreme Court stated that the proposed criminal article is premature because it presupposes a federal framework that has not yet been adopted. The court’s language underscored a central regulatory reality: the enforcement architecture depends on the completion and adoption of the broader digital-currency statute that the government is still developing.

The court’s assessment—that “the proposed article is drafted as a blanket provision, the application of which is not possible in isolation from rules directly established by regulatory acts”—highlights the interdependence of legal instruments within Russia’s evolving framework. In practice, this means that while the lower chamber’s first-reading votes indicate political appetite for constraint and oversight, the concrete enforcement pathways will crystallize only as the federal law matures and corresponding regulatory acts are issued. As noted by observers, this sequencing can create transitional risks for licensed intermediaries and for institutions seeking to align operations with anticipated standards.

Context, risks, and policy implications

Russia’s direction mirrors a broader global shift toward centralized oversight of digital-asset markets, but the approach remains distinctly domestic in its design and implementation. The move to restrict trading to regulated intermediaries, the emphasis on BoR-defined asset liquidity, and the cross-border reporting provisions together create a regulatory skeleton that would govern market access, investor participation, and supervisory responsibilities. While advancing the policy objective of reducing illicit or unregistered activity, the package raises questions about its practical effects on market liquidity, innovation, and cross-border activity, as well as on the sector’s recovery trajectory from prior shocks and hacks that have affected confidence in domestic platforms.

From a compliance and institutional perspective, the bills’ framework could necessitate significant adjustments by exchanges, custodians, banks, and financial-service providers that facilitate crypto activity. Licensing criteria, ongoing reporting obligations, and the proposed investor-protection tests would require robust onboarding controls, audit trails, and regulatory coordination with the Bank of Russia and tax authorities. In a broader policy context, the measures sit alongside ongoing international dialogue about crypto regulation, including contrasting approaches with global frameworks such as the European Union’s MiCA, and with U.S. authorities’ enforcement regimes coordinated by agencies like the SEC, CFTC, and DOJ. While direct interoperability with MiCA is not implied in the Russian texts, the emphasis on licensing, supervision, and compliance structures situates Russia within a growing cohort of jurisdictions pursuing formalized market governance for digital assets.

Experts have cautioned that overly stringent limits or a slow legislative process could incentivize activity to migrate underground or to unregulated actors, potentially undermining the stated objective of protection and oversight. The current readings illustrate a cautious, staged approach: formalizing licensed venues, clarifying investor eligibility, and reserving the question of enforcement for a subsequent phase as the federal framework materializes. The practical implication for market participants is the need to monitor not only the bills’ text but also the regulatory guidance and licensing criteria that will define who qualifies as an intermediary and how asset eligibility will be operationalized in real markets.

Closing perspective

Tuesday’s first-reading votes mark an important milestone in Russia’s ongoing attempt to structure its digital-asset market around licensed, state-supervised channels, while acknowledging that the legal architecture remains incomplete. The coming sessions will determine whether these measures solidify into law and how enforcement rules will be harmonized with the evolving federal framework. For institutions, exchanges, and banks, the immediate implication is heightened attention to licensing pathways, compliance readiness, and cross-border reporting obligations as Russia charts a course toward a regulated but evolving digital-currency environment.

The online gambling industry is watching its audience evolve in real time. Players who once gravitated toward the biggest brand in the room and stayed without questioning the choice are behaving differently now. They compare. They research. They ask whether the platform they are using is genuinely the best available option or simply the most visible one. BetMGM, carrying one of the most storied names in casino history, has become a frequent reference point in that comparison process. The platform remains a major force in the market. But the steady growth in searches for BetMGM alternatives reveals that a meaningful and expanding portion of players believes the market now offers something that the traditional giants were not built to provide. The platform appearing most consistently in those searches is ZunaBet — a crypto-native casino and sportsbook that launched in 2026 and immediately demonstrated what online gambling looks like when it is designed for the audience that is arriving rather than the audience that came before.

BetMGM: Legacy Power in a Digital World

BetMGM operates with advantages that most competitors cannot replicate. The MGM brand has been a pillar of casino culture for generations. BetMGM translates that legacy into the digital space through a joint venture backed by MGM Resorts International and Entain, combining physical casino expertise with online gambling technology. The platform holds licenses across a substantial number of US states and ranks among the most prominent online gambling operators in the American market.

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Payment infrastructure follows the established model. Bank accounts, debit and credit cards, PayPal, and similar traditional services manage the flow of funds. These methods provide the kind of universal accessibility that a mainstream-oriented platform requires to minimize barriers for the widest possible audience.

BetMGM delivers a polished and professional experience within the boundaries it was designed to operate in. The issue driving alternative searches is not product failure but product scope. The game library is focused but modest compared to what newer global platforms now deliver at launch. The payment system processes transactions through intermediary networks that impose delays and fees inherent to traditional banking. And while the connection to physical MGM properties is a genuine differentiator for a specific audience, it holds limited relevance for the growing population of players whose gambling activity is entirely digital and whose financial lives increasingly run on cryptocurrency. BetMGM was built to bring the MGM experience online. The market is now asking for something that goes beyond translating a legacy experience into digital form.

ZunaBet: Built From Scratch for a Digital-First Audience

ZunaBet was not designed to digitize an existing brand. It was designed to build something new for an audience that traditional operators were never equipped to serve. Launched in 2026 by Strathvale Group Ltd, the platform is guided by a management team with more than 20 years of combined gambling industry experience. It operates under an Anjouan gaming license and is registered in Belize. Cryptocurrency serves as the foundational infrastructure — the core architectural principle from which every feature and system extends.

The game library delivers the first and most powerful statement of intent. ZunaBet launched with 11,294 games from 63 separate providers. That volume exceeds what many established operators have built across years or even decades of continuous operation. The provider roster is headlined by studios that set the quality standard across the industry — Pragmatic Play, Evolution, Hacksaw Gaming, Yggdrasil, and BGaming — supported by dozens of additional developers whose collective output ensures comprehensive coverage across every game category and style.

Slots constitute the largest portion of the catalog, as they do at every online casino worldwide. ZunaBet’s strength lies in the depth beyond slots. RNG table games span blackjack, roulette, baccarat, poker across multiple variants, and specialty titles that add unexpected range to the non-slot categories. The live dealer section features high-definition real-time streaming from premium production studios, creating immersive interactive experiences that capture the atmosphere of a physical casino within a digital interface. With 63 providers contributing distinct design philosophies and mechanics, the catalog offers the kind of genuine diversity that sustains a sense of discovery across months of regular play rather than weeks.

That sustained discovery changes how players relate to the platform. On sites with smaller libraries, content fatigue arrives quickly and drives players to look elsewhere. On ZunaBet, the sheer volume and variety of available content means that months of regular activity leave the majority of the catalog still unexplored. The experience of finding something genuinely new does not fade after the first few sessions. It remains a constant feature of the platform, creating organic retention that no promotional campaign can substitute for.

The sportsbook functions as a fully developed product alongside the casino, sharing the same player account and wallet. Traditional sports coverage extends across football, basketball, tennis, NHL, combat sports, and virtual sports. Esports receives dedicated comprehensive treatment with complete betting markets on CS2, Dota 2, League of Legends, and Valorant. This commitment reflects a strategic understanding of the modern gambling audience. Competitive gaming draws hundreds of millions of viewers globally, and the overlap between esports fans and crypto-native users is substantial. ZunaBet built for that intersection from day one, giving it immediate credibility with a demographic that traditional operators have repeatedly underestimated.

Over 20 cryptocurrencies power the payment infrastructure — Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT across multiple blockchain networks, Solana, Dogecoin, Cardano, XRP, and additional options. Platform processing fees do not exist. Withdrawals settle on blockchain networks that operate without interruption, returning funds to player wallets in minutes regardless of when the request is submitted. The crypto-only architecture means no traditional fiat system operates beneath the surface to introduce delays or inconsistency. Every transaction follows the same seamless path.

New players access a welcome package worth up to $5,000 plus 75 free spins over three deposits. First deposit receives a 100% match up to $2,000 with 25 free spins. Second deposit earns a 50% match up to $1,500 with 25 spins. Third deposit completes the offer with a 100% match up to $1,500 and 25 final spins. The three-deposit structure sustains engagement across multiple sessions rather than concentrating all value at the point of entry.

The platform runs on HTML5 with a dark-themed responsive interface and fast performance across every device type. Native apps cover iOS, Android, Windows, and MacOS. Live chat support is available at every hour of every day.

Why Crypto Infrastructure Outperforms Traditional Payment Systems

The payment gap between crypto-native and traditional platforms is not a matter of minor convenience. It is a structural difference that produces measurably different outcomes across every transaction a player makes.

Traditional platforms route financial transactions through layered networks of banks, card companies, and payment processors. Each layer adds processing time. Many add cost. Withdrawals are particularly affected — platform review stages, banking processing queues, business-day limitations, and weekend and holiday pauses stack on top of each other to create timelines stretching from one to five business days. Fees charged at various points along the chain erode the total reaching the player.

On ZunaBet, every transaction is a single blockchain event. Player initiates. Network confirms. Funds arrive. Minutes from start to finish. No platform fees. No institutional queues. No calendar dependencies. The experience works identically at any hour because blockchain networks never stop operating.

Over a year of regular use, the accumulated savings in time and money are significant. These savings are not promotional. They are the permanent product of a more efficient infrastructure applied uniformly to every transaction. A player on ZunaBet does not need to strategize around withdrawal timing or payment method selection. The system delivers speed and cost efficiency by default because it was built to do nothing else.

ZunaBet maintains this consistency through pure crypto architecture. No traditional payment layer runs alongside it. No hybrid system creates variability. One foundation produces one consistently excellent outcome for every player on every transaction.

Physical Rewards vs Digital Progression

BetMGM’s loyalty program holds a distinctive advantage through its integration with MGM Rewards. Players earn points that translate to tangible benefits at physical MGM properties — hotel rooms, restaurant reservations, show tickets, and resort experiences. For players who visit MGM destinations, this bridge between digital gambling and physical luxury creates genuine added value.

For the expanding segment of players whose gambling lives exist entirely in the digital realm, however, those physical perks carry limited weight. This is the space where ZunaBet’s loyalty approach resonates most powerfully.

The dragon evolution system structures progression across six tiers — Squire at 1% rakeback, Warden at 2%, Champion at 4%, Divine at 5%, Knight at 10%, and Ultimate at 20%. Each tier delivers escalating digital rewards — free spins building to 1,000 at the highest level, VIP club access, and double wheel spins. A dragon mascot called Zuno evolves visually as the player advances through each stage, creating a personal progression narrative.

The design draws directly from video game mechanics. Defined levels with clear requirements. Meaningfully escalating rewards at each stage. Visual evolution that makes progress observable and personal. Achievement dynamics that give milestones emotional weight. These principles have sustained engagement in gaming for decades, and they connect powerfully with the demographic most likely to use a crypto-native gambling platform — players raised on progression systems, achievement unlocks, and visual feedback loops.

ZunaBet players interact with their loyalty tier actively rather than passively. They track progress. They strategize around milestones. They feel authentic accomplishment when they advance. That behavioral pattern represents a fundamentally different relationship with loyalty than what points-based systems produce, even those connected to physical resort experiences. For the digital-first audience, progression that lives within the platform they use daily carries more personal resonance than perks they may never redeem at a property they may never visit.

What the Search Data Means

The consistent growth in BetMGM alternative searches tells a straightforward story about a market in transition. BetMGM will continue to hold significant ground. The MGM brand, regulatory licenses, Entain partnership, physical property integration, and financial resources provide a foundation that ensures long-term relevance. The platform serves its audience well and will keep doing so.

But the audience itself is diversifying beyond what BetMGM was constructed to address. The fastest-growing player segment wants crypto-native payments that are instant and free. It wants game catalogs so vast that boredom becomes structurally impossible. It wants esports treated as a serious betting vertical. It wants loyalty programs designed for digital engagement rather than physical redemption. It wants platforms built for the world it currently inhabits.

ZunaBet was engineered from a blank page to satisfy every one of those demands. Its game library ranks among the deepest anywhere. Its payment infrastructure delivers speed and cost efficiency beyond what traditional systems can approach. Its esports offering serves a massive audience with genuine commitment. And its loyalty system turned the industry’s most neglected convention into something players actively enjoy. That is why ZunaBet keeps appearing when players search for something beyond BetMGM. They are looking for what online gambling should be for a new generation, and ZunaBet already built it.

Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.

The American Bankers Association (ABA) has asked US government agencies responsible for regulations related to a stablecoin bill for more time to comment, potentially delaying implementation by as much as two months.

In a Tuesday letter to the US Treasury Department, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the ABA requested the agencies extend the deadline for public comment on rules for the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin payments bill signed into law in July 2025.

The banking group asked for 60 additional days to comment on rulemaking after the issuance of a final rule by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), saying the rules by the other agencies were “substantially dependent” on the outcome of the OCC’s.

“The FDIC has stated explicitly in its [notice] that it ‘has endeavored, in many areas, to align this proposed rule with the OCC’s proposed rule, to the extent relevant,’ and specifically invites comment ‘on the extent to which the primary Federal payment stablecoin regulators should further align in their final rules to promote consistency of regulations applicable to all PPSIs subject to the GENIUS Act,’” said the letter. “Meaningful comment on that question is impossible without knowing the final content of the OCC’s rule.”

Since being signed into law by US President Donald Trump in July, implementation of the stablecoin bill has moved to agencies like the FDIC and Treasury, which need to finalize regulations. According to the law, the legislation can be enacted 120 days after final regulations are issued or 18 months after enactment, whichever comes first.

Related: UK cracks down on illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading in nationwide raids

In addition to its request related to the GENIUS Act, the ABA is a party to policy debates concerning a crypto market structure bill, which could potentially affect the legal status of stablecoin yield. Last week, the association challenged a report from the White House that claimed banning stablecoin yields would only have a negligible impact on banks.

Stablecoin yield debate continues as Senate considers CLARITY Act

As of Wednesday, lawmakers in the US Senate had not announced a deal which could allow a separate crypto market structure bill, called the CLARITY Act when it passed the US House of Representatives in July, to move forward.

North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis reportedly said on Monday that he recommended Senate Banking Committee leader Tim Scott schedule a markup on the bill in May, potentially pushing back a vote in the full chamber.

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