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The Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Viktor Zubkov, has signed the final ruling which sets up a 20 million sq metre gambling zone in Azov-City, in southern Russia.
After 1st July 2009, as the result of a bill approved by the Russian parliament and introduced by President Vladimir Putin, all gambling activity except for bookmakers' in Russia will be confined to four zones. The other three zones will be in the Kaliningrad region, the Altai Republic, and the Primorie area of Russia.
The law was introduced to the State Duma by Putin in 2006, who views gambling as a serious problem for Russia "...it is not only young people but also retirees that lose their last penny and pensions through gambling. Experts say that dependence on games and gambling is far stronger than an addiction to alcohol," he said.
The law set out minimum sizes for casinos and halls with slot machines, in order to reduce the high number of stand-alone slot machine sites in cities. It also banned online gambling activities.
State and private sector operators have been making changes during 2007. For instance the city of St Petersburg closed some 500 slot machine halls on January 1st this year after converting a further 50 to casinos, which meet the conditions of the regulations and will be allowed to operate until July 2009.
Will the plans for Russia's 'remote' gaming areas go ahead as the State Duma has described?
- 27 - 29 January, 2009
International Casino Exhibition 2009 - UK
