Investment in new entertainment and amusement facilities in Russia is encouraging for the industry.
When the government of Russia moved to address the problem of a gambling industry that was growing out of control, it surprised many by how far it chose to go – banning gaming everywhere, except for four designated gambling zones.
Even on the eve of the new law coming into effect on July 1, 2009, there were still many gambling operators that were sure the ban would be postponed or introduced on a partial basis. Overnight, however, they were ordered to shut their operations down. The reality, of course, was that many did not relocate to these remote gambling zones and continued to offer clandestine gambling services under varying degrees of secrecy. This tested the strength of the government’s conviction and it responded by leading a major crack down on illegal gambling activities. It is difficult to get an accurate picture of the true extent of Russia’s underground gambling market but what is clear is that over the last few years gaming’s decline has seen investment channeled elsewhere, most notably in amusements.
“Since the imposition on the siting of restrictions on casino and other gambling activities, many of the larger operators have turned to the wider amusement industry in a fairly substantial way,” explained Gerry Robinson of TSI, a UK-based company lending its support to the RAAPA amusement show in Moscow this month. “The consequence of this,” he continued, “has been a growth in demand for amusement machines in family entertainment centres.”
Martin Riley of Sega Amusements, a company with a strong presence in Russia, said the change to the country’s gambling legislation has had a “positive” impact on the sector.
“It has made a positive difference in as much as money that was being made in the gambling sector is being reinvested into FECs,” he said. “It has changed the look of many cities in Russia. For example in Moscow, there was gambling in many of the hotels and they have been replaced by restaurants and such things but on the other hand you have some top-notch FECs, many of them new developments.”
Read the full article in the March issue of InterGaming.
