The federal law is intended to fight the organisation and holding of fixed matches.
The federal law establishes a ban on unlawfully influencing the results of official athletic competitions at various levels. Such unlawful influence includes bribing athletes, referees, coaches and other participants or organisers of official athletic competitions, or the receipt by the aforementioned individuals of money, securities, other property or other benefits in exchange for achieving a previously agreed upon result or outcome in a competition. Committing any of these offences carries criminal responsibility.
In addition, the law establishes a ban on participation by athletes, referees, coaches and other participants in official athletic events in gambling activities at bookmakers’ offices and betting shops by placing bets on corresponding sports competitions.
Sports federations are entrusted with the responsibility to monitor compliance with these restrictions. National or regional federations that do not fulfil this responsibility may risk having their national accreditation suspended or terminated.
The law also establishes corresponding rules for bookmakers and betting shops. In particular, accepting bets on competition results and paying out winnings on these bets requires asking the gambler to present identification, and betting organisers are obligated to maintain records of gamblers making bets on official sporting events and present the data to the tax authorities. Corresponding amendments have been introduced to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.