MOSCOW, May 23 (RAPSI) – The Moscow directorate of Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) found Google LLC guilty of advertising a gambling house in Google AdWords, according to a statement released by the watchdog on Thursday.

The ads called for online gambling with certain conditions, the statement reads.

Gambling, including online casinos, as well as their advertisement are prohibited in Russia, the FAS noted.

The company could face a fine of up to 500,000 rubles (about $8,000).

The gambling business has been banned in Russia except for four designated areas, near Vladivostok, in the Altai Territory, in Kaliningrad and on the Azov Sea – Black Sea shore of the Caucasus. In July 2014, Putin signed a bill on creating gambling areas in the republic of Crimea that joined Russia, and Kuban.

In 2018, Russian communications agency Roskomnadzor restricted access to 200 unauthorized websites containing illegal advertisement of online casino and bookmaker's offices.