al sportsbook operator Bwin has announced the official launch of its inaugural Russia-facing website, Bwin.ru. Bwin has also confirmed that it will soon start accepting bets from gamblers within Russia.

Bwin.ru is a partnership with local businessman Alexander Mamut, owner of Russia-licensed bookmaker Digital Betting LLC and online media company Rambler & Co which operates several news websites in Russia.

Under the terms of the original partnership, Digital Betting LLC will provide up to €11.2m per annum of funding to the project over the next three years, while Bwin will provide its technological infrastructure and branding to the project in return for a percentage of the potential profits generated by the new platform.

Digital Betting LLC received a Russian betting licence in March 2016 and is a member of the Self Regulatory Organisation of Russian Bookmakers.

The launch represents the first time that an international bookmaker has managed to establish itself in the Russian gambling sector, one of the most challenging gambling markets in the world. Russia’s central media regulatory body, the Roskomnadzor has blacklisted a number of gambling websites belonging to international operators, including 100 Bwin related domains.

Bwin’s launch in Russia brings the current roster of Russian-licensed online bookies to 15, joining Liga Stavok, 1xBet, Winline,Tennisi, Betcity, 888 (not the UK operator), Fonbet, Olympus, Baltbet, Leon, BingoBoom, PariMatch, Marathon and Zenit.