Putin seeks to shift budget deficit burden to Russia’s poorest regions

A new casino is planned to be built in the Altai Republic, and will join existing gambling zones in temporarily occupied Crimea, Kaliningrad Oblast, as well as in the Altai, Krasnodar, and Primorsky Krai.

The new casino will be located in the Manzherok ski resort, owned by Sberbank and overseen by the bank’s Chair, German Gref. The Russian Finance Ministry argued that a gambling zone in Altai will boost regional development and create jobs.

The Finance Ministry proposed the broad legalization of gambling to support the budget. Last year, the federal treasury ran a deficit of more than $74 billion – five times higher than initially planned – while the “hole” in regional budgets reached a record high of $20 billion.

Finance Ministry Head Anton Siluanov proposed to Putin to lift the ban on online casinos and to create a Unified Betting Accounting Center similar to betting operators. He also proposed the introduction of a 30% revenue tax for these organizations. Finance Ministry estimated that the initiative could generate about $1.3 billion annually for the aggressor's budget.

Altai Republic is one of the poorest regions in Russia, with 13.8% of its population earning below the subsistence level.

Earlier this year, reports have shown that Russian oil and gas revenue sharply dropped in 2025, reaching its lowest level since the coronavirus pandemic.

The Kremlin acknowledged that the country’s budget could face a significant deficit as early as 2026 due to a loss of oil and gas revenues.

Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence reported that the financial situation of medium and large enterprises in Russia continues to deteriorate, revealing mounting imbalances within the country’s corporate sector.

More than half of large Russian companies ended 2025 with declining profits and reduced or completely frozen investment projects. Many of these companies are preparing to lay off employees.

More than half of large Russian companies ended 2025 with declining profits and reduced or completely frozen investment projects. As such, many of these companies are preparing to lay off employees.

On Feb. 24, it was revealed that about 300 companies in Russia were planning to close.

For the first time in history, 74 Russian oblasts found themselves in a financial hole.

The Russian Finance Ministry has admitted that the country’s treasury is in a financial hole, and it is deepening at a record pace.

According to Rosstat, more than 17,000 Russian enterprises have reported losses.

VkusVill became the first major grocery retailer in Russia to begin scaling down its operations; by the end of 2025, the company closed 286 stores.

Magnit, Russia’s largest retail chain, ended 2025 with a net loss.

On April 3, reports showed that 22 Russian industries were facing severe deficits.

Russian clothing retailer Zolla has closed 35 stores amid a sharp decline in profits.

Half of Russian small businesses are operating without profit.

In April, Russia officially recorded a slump in its GDP for the first time in recent years.