The Russian approach to regulating video games: a play-through

The Russian video game market is one of the world's biggest markets with a total revenue of USD 2 billion in 2019, making it potentially attractive for investors to explore. Although launching a product for the Russian market may require a lot of attention to regulatory details, on many issues the Russian legal environment seems to be favourable to game companies. This is an analysis of a number of typical issues that a game company may face in the Russian market. In particular, the following issues will be considered: the likelihood of success in disputes arising between game companies and gamers or the Russian state; the legal implications of qualifying an in-game asset; and whether the use of loot boxes in a game can lead to the game being qualified as gambling.