Russians find creative ways around sanctions to watch Netflix, play online games

Russians who have been largely cut off from Western online entertainment by sanctions are jumping through new hoops to get their fix of foreign TV shows and video games.

The primary issue for many is the withdrawal or suspension of Visa, Mastercard and PayPal, meaning they have no way to pay subscription fees, reports The Moscow Times.

Many services like streamers like Netflix, Spotify, and Pornhub are gated behind monthly subscriptions, while gaming services like Steam, Xbox Live and Battle.net. require a credit card for access or in-game goods.

A popular work-around is to use a subscription paid for by friends or family abroad. Russians can stream if they log in from outside the country using a VPN, which The Moscow Times confirmed.

Those without a friend abroad can purchase access to a “family” subscription online, such as on Russian online marketplace Avito. For example, a Netflix premium subscription would have cost 999 rubles ($17) before the invasion of Ukraine can now be purchased for 390 rubles ($6) or less on Avito.

Avito also sells product keys that can be used to activate video games on Steam and other gaming platforms. They are often purchased cheaper from countries like Argentina, Armenia and Kazakhstan, where prices tend to be lower, reports Cybersport.

For example, popular online game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare can be downloaded for free on illegal torrenting sites then activated with a key purchased online, like on Plati.ru for $13.  

However, the risk of being scammed is high.

Russian gamers can also pay to have companies add credit to their Steam accounts but commissions can be up to 22%, reports The Moscow Times.

Vladimir Makarov, an expert from the T.Hunter IT security consulting firm, said that the current environment is reminiscent of the early 2000s, when Russians relied on torrents due to a lack of reliable online options.

“We are now getting back to a time when you had to go to a physical store to buy something or search for options on the web not knowing whether they were a scam or not. The other option is to use torrents – just download and watch,” Makarov told The Moscow Times.