In the wake of the ban on casinos in its own jurisdiction, Russian casino operator Storm International is seeking commercial opportunities in new territories.
Company president Michael Boettcher told InterGaming the ban on casinos in Russian cities will mean Storm is forced to rent out its properties or use them as restaurants in order to meet property taxes and running costs.
"Our total closing costs, including redundancies and bonuses, are close to $32m," he said. "The properties are up for sale and the sooner I can sell them, or at least my share in them, the better as I will use the money to invest in the only industry I know."
Storm International is already operating in Monterrey, Mexico, as well as a Shangri La casino in Yerevan, Armenia. According to Boettcher, a number of other projects are in the pipeline, including slot operations in Germany, a casino in the Hyatt hotel in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, a Shangri La casino in Minsk, Belarus, and a casino currently under construction in Tajikistan on the border with Uzbekistan.
"We also have plans to open a Shangri La in Kazakhstan and Tbilisi, Georgia," he said. "There are additional plans to open one or more slot halls in Phnom Peng, Cambodia, once new legislation has been introduced and in Manilla, Philippines, where we already have a licence."
The company is also exploring possible opportunities in Kurdestan, Bulgaria, Romania and Kabul, Afghanistan.
"Of course we will need more time to see some of these places become profitable but, as you can see, we have not just sat back in the hope that the Russian government would change its mind at the last moment, as many others did," Boettcher said.
