Bitcoin Use in Casinos to be Discussed at Russian Gaming Week 2017; Central Bank Proposes Legislation
by 
Russian Gaming Week is a gambling/entertainment exhibition and forum that is held annually inside the Russian Federation and brings together people from every sector of the gambling industry. Like every year, the main topics of discussion will be current and future trends in the gambling business, legislative challenges and changes, as well as Russia’s gaming zones in general.
Bitcoin on the Horizon
One of the more notable things about the Russian Gaming Week is that it’s a successful gaming exhibition that takes part in a country that heavily restricts gambling. But despite being unable to showcase gambling equipment so it can stay within the confines of law, the conference has always been able to attract visitors and noted professionals from the industry. And this year’s talk about Bitcoin is expected to stir the interest of visitors in a similar fashion.
Benz, who will be representing the Cryptopay exchange at the conference, was invited to lead the discussion on the use of Bitcoin and Bitcoin debit cards as payment methods, but also its application in business processes like mainly paying out salaries. The company he works for, Cryptopay, is a London-based exchange that was the first exchange to start issuing BTC debit cards, so he will be at the conference to share his professional experience of the pros and cons of implementing Bitcoin in businesses.
His experience in FinTech spans for years, having started with delivering Software as a Service platforms (SaaS) to institutions dealing with banking and payments, while his involvement with Blockchain dates back to 2012. Thus far, Benz has been a part of several Fintech and Blockchain businesses either as part of the board or as an advisor, including companies like Bitreserve and Credits, but his role in Cryptopay only became official since January 2017.
But what’s interesting to observe that his invitation to the Russian Gaming Week 2017 comes not long after the government revealed they are working on a draft law to legalize the cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin to Be Classified as “Digital Goods“ and Taxed by Next Month?
When the first news of Bitcoin’s legalization started circling around the media a month ago, Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister Moiseev explained that the government was hoping to recognize Bitcoin along with other cryptocurrencies by 2018. At the time, he told Bloomberg that the central bank was cooperating with the government to establish a “joint position” towards digital currencies.
But recent reports reveal the “position” has been already established, as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), Olga Skorobogatova, revealed that they plan to classify cryptocurrencies as “digital goods” for taxation purposes. Namely, Skorobogatova told the press the central bank plans to use the digital goods legislation for “non-state cryptocurrencies” and apply some of its amendments in regards to record-keeping, taxes, and control on the digital currencies.
According to her, the proposed classification received support from all the relevant ministries so the central bank has already started working on it and plans to reveal the first draft of the legislation in a month’s time.
