Russia looking to expand its gambling zones.
The Russian government is considering establishing a gambling zone in Crimea, with the aim of reducing the region’s dependence on state subsidies, according to Sergei Aksenov, Crimea’s Prime Minister.
He says the government has already started to put together a feasibility study for the project. It is planned that implementation of the project will be supervised by Russia’s Ministry of Regional Development and personally by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak.
According to a recent study conducted by analysts at the Ministry of Regional Development, the development of gambling in Crimea can provide significant benefits both to the peninsula itself and the whole of Russia, as the closest gambling areas to Crimea are located in Belarus, Armenia and Georgia, the current tourist flows to which currently remain relatively small. The idea of the establishment of a gambling zone in Crimea is not new and was put forward long before the annexing of the peninsula by Russia and in particular in 2011 by the current first Deputy Prime Minister of the Crimea, Rustam Temirgaliev. According to Igor Rudensky, head of the Committee on Economic Policy and Entrepreneurship of the Russian State Duma, the exact location of the planned gambling zone is currently unknown. It will be established far away from the main children-friendly resorts of the peninsula.
The new gambling zone will be located on an area of 500 hectares, outside the settlements and as close as possible to an airport, railways and highways. The area should be equipped with all the necessary communal infrastructure.
At the same time, another option could be the establishment of a gambling zone within the territory of the luxury hotels of a particular city of the Crimea and in particular Sevastopol. The hotels, which will be interested in participation in this project, will be obliged to receive licences to conduct gambling activities.
Read the full article in the June issue of InterGaming
