Russian police have arrested a 19-year-old resident of Kirov, accusing him of running an illegal gambling den in the public square outside the city’s main train station.
Transport police say they arrested a teenage male who installed five electronic gaming terminals inside a building just meters away from the station’s main entrance.
Officers said the teenager “accepted bets through the terminals” and charged patrons cash for access to the gaming equipment, the Russian media outlet Istochnik Online reported.
Transport police officials also released a photograph that appears to show the den was housed in a small building that seemed to double as a cafe. Signs on the cafe advertise the building as a 24-hour retailer that sells fresh pastries, tea, coffee, and fruit juice.
Russian Train Station Betting Den: Suspect Faces Jail Time
A spokesperson said the police began investigating the building in April and followed up with a raid.
Detectives arrested the teen, seized the equipment, and sent the terminals to a data lab for further analysis. A magistrate’s court in the city will hear the case in the coming weeks.
Under Russian law, only permit-holding operators based in one of the nation’s designated gambling zones can offer casino-type gambling and slot machines.
Online casinos are illegal, and bookmakers can only operate if they obtain licences. If he is found guilty, the teen suspect faces a maximum jail term of two years.
Kirov is located in Western Russia, around 900km northeast of Moscow.
Siberian Prosecutors Dismantle Gambling Den Network
In Siberia, meanwhile, prosecutors in Novosibirsk say they have shut down a citywide network of illicit gambling dens.
Officials said they will bring eight members of the “organized crime group” that ran the dens in eight Novosibirsk districts.
Novosibirsk officials say the group earned over 4 million rubles (over $55,000) during several months of operation.
Prosecutors released images of their December 2025 raids, which show specially modified computer terminals running slots and other gambling software.
During subsequent searches, law enforcers seized over 20 slot machines, over 200,000 rubles ($2,750) in cash, and a range of illegal betting paraphernalia.
Officials say the suspected mastermind is a 28-year-old Novosibirsk resident, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.
Other suspected accomplices will be tried separately, the prosecutors said.
Gambling Becoming a Hot Potato for Russian Politicians
Earlier this month, top Russian psychologists warned that childhood smartphone usage is helping drive youth gambling addiction.
But gambling industry advocates claim the government’s decision to restrict gambling to designated zones is counterproductive.
One former industry chief said that the Kremlin should let cities with a population of 1 million inhabitants or more open casinos.
He argued that this would help stop the rise of the illegal online casino sector and help raise money for the Treasury.
However, lawmakers are divided on the proposal. Last week, Russia’s upper parliamentary house voted in favor of a draft law that seeks to fast-track the issuance of access-blocking orders for online casinos.
The law will let regulators streamline requests and execute orders in just 48 hours, down from the current five days.
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Russian police have arrested a 19-year-old resident of Kirov, accusing him of running an illegal gambling den in the public square outside the city’s main train station. Transport police say they arrested a teenage male who installed five electronic gaming terminals inside a building just meters away from the station’s main entrance. Officers said the
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