Russia: The gambling business has gone into the shadows again. Gaming zone in Russia

For those whose passion is sports, and excitement is nature, the desire to win and win should be the second “I”. It is possible to implement such character traits only in one place - in the casino. Where can you legally play casino in Russia today?

Conditions of existence gambling establishments in the Russian Federation are determined by legislation, which states that special territories should be allocated for their location. Where are the official gaming zones in Russia? What is their history and prospects?

Special administrative-territorial object

Game Zone in Russia is a special administrative-territorial object designed to organize and conduct various gambling.

Since July 2009, it has been legally prohibited to carry out any gambling activity outside such zones in Russia. The exceptions are bookmakers, sweepstakes and lottery draws. The law regulates the processes of organization and liquidation of such objects, their naming and delimitation.

Gambling zones, in accordance with the law, can be placed exclusively outside settlements. No permanent settlements should be planned on their territory.

Where are gaming zones in Russia predetermined to be placed by law?

For the organization of such territories, the government allocated four sites. Some of them already have operating gaming complexes, while others have a casino zone organization under consideration and discussion.

Operating objects

• Azov City. One of the first active gambling zones. Located in Krasnodar Territory. Initially, it was planned to place the zone on the border between the Krasnodar Territory and the neighboring Rostov Region. Subsequently, the liquidation of the Rostov part of the zone was undertaken. Today, Azov City is the largest of the four gambling zones in the Russian Federation.
• Gambling zone "Siberian coin". Its location is the Altai Territory. Since December 2015, several gambling halls have been operating in the first open casino complex of Altai Palace, in addition, work is underway in the hotel and some other parts of the complex. According to official data, in 2015, about 17 thousand people became visitors to the gambling zone.

Development plans are being discussed: "Yantarnaya"

"Yantarnaya" is a gaming zone in Russia, the development plan of which is under discussion in the government. Located in the Kaliningrad region. For a long time, despite the active investment in the project, the development of the gaming zone, according to estimates, was not effective enough. In April 2014, its territory was increased by almost 1 km. The Governor of the Kaliningrad region made a proposal to discuss the concept of a gambling zone. It is believed that Yantarnaya should develop as a special one without focusing on the gambling business. An example is the popular German resort town of Baden-Baden.

Under consideration

In April 2014, information appeared in the media that, according to a bill introduced by President Vladimir Putin, free play zones in Russia could be created on the Crimean peninsula, which is de facto part of the Russian Federation. As reported, the search for a place for their optimal placement is now underway. The most likely option is the southern coast of Crimea.

The issue of creating a gambling zone in Crimea was raised even during the control of the peninsula by Ukraine. In March 2014, after it became part of Russia, the government again began to consider the issue of creating a special economic zone on the peninsula. Initially, the initiative was subjected to serious criticism from the Public Chamber Russian Federation and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, but received the support of and. about. Prime Minister of Crimea

Suggested Options

• "Golden Sands". A large resort complex in the suburbs of Anapa, including a gambling zone. It was originally proposed as a replacement for the Azov-City facility, which was assessed as less promising.
• A play area was also planned in Sochi. In Russia, as was noted by President V. Putin, the city has the image of a family resort, so at first the creation of a gambling zone in it was considered inappropriate. A number of media published a proposal by Prime Minister D. Medvedev to start construction of a gambling zone in Sochi after the winter Olympic Games. The information was soon refuted. Later, the Prime Minister and a number of other experts and officials criticized this idea. Various publications have expressed the idea that the "Sochi game zone" project in Russia cannot be implemented in the near future. But in 2014, the government returned to consider this issue.
• Gambling zone in Buryatia. The creation of a gambling complex in this area was proposed by members of the Public Chamber of the Republic. The idea began to be considered back in 2008 in order to include Buryatia in the project "playing zones of Russia". Even then it turned out to be quite problematic to locate a casino on its territory. The idea was protested by various activists, especially members of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.
• "Primorye". The complex was to be designed and built in a resort area on the shores of Muravyina Bay (Cape Turtle, the distance to the airport here is 23 km, to Vladivostok (the capital of the region) - 70 km. The total area of ​​the gambling zone is about 620 hectares. According to the project "playing zones of Russia ", the casino in Primorye was to be located in four establishments, each containing 10 VIP, 20 poker and 45 gambling tables, as well as 1000 slot machines. In addition, it is planned to build three hotels with 600 rooms, which meets the modern standards of popular online casino.Shopping and entertainment centers, bars and restaurants, conference and banquet halls, beauty salons and spas, sports and entertainment and public and business complexes were also to be built on the territory of the complex.The project provides for the creation of a hippodrome, golf course and ski complex.Now the construction of the game zone "Primorye" is at the stage of project development.

Azov City: location

One of the first operating domestic gambling zones, which the Russians rightly call "our Las Vegas". Posted on the coast Sea of ​​Azov in the Krasnodar Territory. The nearest large city, located 50 kilometers from the gambling complex, is Yeysk (resort city). Within a radius of 200 kilometers from the zone are Azov, Krasnodar, Taganrog, Rostov-on-Don.

The gambling zone was initially located on the border between the Krasnodar Territory and the neighboring Rostov Region, over time, the Rostov part of the complex was eliminated.

"Azov-City" is located between two settlements: the village of Port-Katon and the farm Molchanovka. The area of ​​the territory is about 1000 hectares. The complex is equipped with the necessary engineering infrastructure, communications and access roads.

Casino

One of the largest casinos in Russia is located on the territory of "Azov-City" institution "Orakul", the area of ​​which is about 4000 sq.m. Its owner is Rashid Taimasov.

The assets of M. Smolentsev's company are also located in Azov-City: the Shambhala casino (the area is about 1400 sq. m), the hotel and Nirvana - the newest domestic casino on 1400 sq. m. m.

Casino "Oracle" was built by the company "Royal-Time" (Kazan). The first phase of the facility for customers was opened in January 2010. In September 2010, the second phase of the Oracle casino was launched. After that, the area of ​​the complex amounted to more than 4 thousand square meters. The attention of gamblers here is offered a hall for VIP guests (7 casino halls (5 gaming tables), VIP-hall (3 gaming tables). In addition, there are apartments for playing tête-à-tête "Incognito". the casino provides for the presence of five tables for tournament poker, a premium hotel (11 rooms) has been opened, a slot hall with a stage is functioning (the total number of slot machines is 300 units).The company has invested about 400 million rubles in the construction of the Oracle.

Casino "Shambhala" started working in "Azov-City" in October 2010. Its owner is Park City LLC. The total area of ​​the complex is approximately 1.5 thousand square meters. m. About 175 million rubles were invested in the project. The gambling establishment "Shambhala" is located 100 meters from the "Oracle". The casino is equipped with 12 gaming tables, 130 slot machines, and a poker room for sports poker competitions. Also "Shambhala" has several VIP rooms for private games and a concert venue.

The owner of the third casino - "Nirvana" - CJSC "Shambhala". The establishment opened in October 2013. The volume of investments in this project is about 200 million rubles.

Under the new law

In November 2010, the government passed a law, according to which the Rostov region was excluded from the list of regions allowed to host gambling zones. The law also predetermined that the Rostov part of the southern playing area will be moved to a new location: in the Blagoveshchenskaya Spit area.

In March 2012, the government approved a change in the boundaries of the Azov City gambling complex. It was joined by 800 hectares of land nearby (45 km from Anapa).

The right to receive a lease of a land area of ​​240 hectares for the implementation of a gambling investment project for a period of 20 years was received by Adaptas (Rus) LLC.

Plans

In 2016, it was planned to open the first object in the Anapa resort area on the territory of the gambling complex - a five-star hotel with a casino. The cost of this project is estimated at 11 billion rubles. In general, the company plans to build five hotels with a casino and a golf park in the gambling zone. The volume of investments in this project is more than 16 billion rubles.

It was planned that the area of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov City would be approximately 20.02 million square meters. m (about 2 thousand hectares). Half of the territory (1000 hectares) was to be located in Rostov region, the second half - in the Krasnodar Territory.

The gaming zone provided for the placement of numerous slot machine halls, casino establishments, sweepstakes offices, betting shops, online casino halls, various resort, cultural and sports complexes. A varied selection of gambling games was planned, not inferior to the list of Europa Casino. It was planned to create transport hubs and interchanges: an airport, a bus station, railway stations, as well as the construction of other necessary facilities for the development of infrastructure.

Rumors of closure

In 2015, information appeared in the media that one of the two active domestic gaming zones, Azov City (Krasnodar Territory), was to be liquidated. The state undertakes to pay compensation to investors - approximately 10 billion rubles.

The liquidation of the zone is necessary in connection with the introduction of amendments to the federal law “On Gambling” (July 27, 2014). On the one hand, these amendments expanded the list of regions that have the right to place gambling business on their territory. Previously, the list included the Krasnodar Territory, Altai, Primorye and the Kaliningrad Region. Now Crimea has been added to them. On the other hand, it was stipulated that the placement of gambling zones in the Kuban is limited exclusively to areas allocated for the construction of federal Olympic facilities.

What is planned instead of the liquidated object?

As it became known to the media, instead of "Azov City" (Krasnodar Territory), a new gambling complex will be built - in the area where the Sochi Olympic facilities are located.

In Sochi, a gambling zone is planned to be located in the Gorki-Gorod resorts (owned by Sberbank) and Rosa Khutor. In December 2014, Sberbank reported that Krasnaya Polyana was being taken over by the Krasnodar company Center Omega, which is one of the builders of Olympic venues, in exchange for the construction of an Olympic media center. Having become the property of the region, Krasnaya Polyana is deprived of the right to conduct a gambling business, and, most likely, its premises will be leased. It is assumed that Azov-City is being liquidated in the interests of this tenant, who is still unknown to anyone.

Present state of affairs

As of May-June 2016, all casinos in the gambling zone continue to operate successfully. Today in "Azov-City" everyone can choose a game according to their character and temperament. This is American roulette, recognized as the queen of gambling, and Black Jack, and various types of poker, and numerous slot machines, as well as many intellectual games: chess, backgammon, checkers. In the gambling zone, all kinds of promotions are held almost daily, drawing valuable prizes, including solid jackpots and luxury cars.

The casino regularly hosts show programs in which pop stars, famous entertainers, striptease shows take part. The public is offered circus numbers and many surprises.

How to get there?

The gambling zone "Azov-City" is located in the Krasnodar Territory on the border of two districts - Yeisk and Shcherbinovsky. The distance from Yeysk to Azov-City is 70 km. You can get here by free bus, it will take 40-50 minutes. You can also get on your own car or order a transfer.

If you go to "Azov-City" from another city, then you should, before reaching about 30 km to Yeysk, turn right in the village of Staroshcherbinovskaya on the ring and then follow the signs.

Daily free buses to Azov-City run according to the schedule:

• from Yeysk (TC "Meotida"): departure time - 19:30;
• from Rostov-on-Don (railway station "Rostov Glavny"): departure time - 19:00;
• from Krasnodar (TC "Red Square"): departure time on weekdays - 19:00; Saturday and Sunday - 18:00.

Where can you stay?

Those who wish can choose to stay in a VIP hotel located on the territory of the gambling complex. It is also possible to book a private house, an apartment, a hotel room in the city of Yeysk through the Yeysk-Leto.ru agency.

In perspective

The number of the playing public in Russia and neighboring countries is significant today, so the Azov-City casinos do not lack customers. In this regard, it can be assumed that the operation game complex will continue for some time.

However, it is known that Azov-City will be closed in the near future. Residents have already placed bets on liquidation.

The Ministry of Finance is studying the possibility of simultaneously liquidating Azov-City and starting a new zone in Sochi.

The idea of ​​a "Russian Las Vegas" in Sochi was rejected for several years. Today, the casino is unofficially called the city-forming enterprise, and the number of visitors has exceeded half a million

The Olympics had not yet begun when investors started talking about ways to develop the post-Olympic legacy and return on investment through the gambling zone in Sochi. But the government was against it: they wanted to turn the resort city into a family vacation center for people with average incomes and below. “If we have already invested such huge funds here, then not for a small group of elected citizens who can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in casinos,” Vladimir Putin said at one of the meetings.

Two years later, a gambling zone was opened in the mountain village of Krasnaya Polyana. Since December 2016, Domain LLC, the operator of Casino Sochi, has been working here. Why has the concept of developing a Russian resort changed?

From croupier to janitors

On a summer evening in 2009, young people gathered on Pushkin Square in the center of Moscow. Thousands of croupiers, bartenders and pit bosses have lost their jobs since July 1. After the entry into force of the law banning the gambling business in Russia, they were offered the positions of social workers, nurses or janitors. The decision to liquidate all gambling establishments in the country, except for bookmakers and lotteries, was made in 2006. At that time, the gambling market in Russia was estimated at about $5.5-6 billion. And if not for the new law, the market would have grown to $8 billion, estimated Evgeny Kovtun, vice president of the Association of Gambling Business Figures. For casino owners, the night of July 1, 2009 became "X hour" - from now on they could work exclusively in specially designated areas in the Altai, Krasnodar and Primorsky Territories, as well as in the Kaliningrad Region.

The next day, 1500 km from Moscow, in the town of Molchanovka on the border of the Rostov region and the Krasnodar Territory, the first gambling zone "Azov-City" was solemnly opened. Tarpaulin tents were set up in the middle of a clean wheat field, and a delegation of investors, administration officials and journalists were invited. “The event was grandiose and widely covered in the media,” recalls the events of almost a decade ago Maxim Smolentsev, General Director of Shambala CJSC, a resident of Azov City. Until 2006, he had his own casino network in Krasnodar. In 2008, Smolentsev bought a plot of land in a new zone and started building two casinos and a five-star hotel. His neighbor, the operator from Tatarstan "Royal Time Group", leased the lion's share of the land of "Azov-City".

The ceremony was attended by the governor of the Krasnodar Territory Alexander Tkachev, who personally oversaw this project. He pressed the symbolic buttons for the start of electricity, gas and water, emphasizing that the region had fulfilled its obligations to investors by 100% and now it's up to business. The official even made the first bet, on the advice of the croupier, put it on the date of birth - 23 red, but 27 fell out.

In total, the administration of the Krasnodar Territory invested about 1 billion rubles in the Azov-City infrastructure, for which it demanded certain obligations to investors: the volume of construction and deadlines.

Smolentsev says that they could not meet the deadline: “We paid a fine, but in the end they opened, having invested a total of $10 million.” For the future, they planned to build a toll road to Azov City, an airfield for small aircraft and a marina. The government was going to allocate 18 billion rubles for this to the Rostov region. Financing of the Krasnodar part of the zone was to be carried out within the framework of the federal targeted program. But the plans were not destined to come true.

Crazy from the Kuban

In August 2010, a letter signed by Tkachev arrived at the administration of President Dmitry Medvedev. In it, the governor proposed moving the Azov-City zone opened a year ago to the south, to Anapa, since the current location does not attract either players or investors. Rostov operators, who had already purchased equipment for casinos in Azov City, were at a loss: “We are shocked and do not understand anything, although we are in constant dialogue with the authorities.” The governor of the Rostov region, Vasily Golubev, learned about the transfer of the zone from the press and was, to put it mildly, surprised. In the fall of 2010, the Federal Law "On Gambling" was amended, and the Rostov Region was excluded from the list of subjects of the Russian Federation where there may be gambling zones. The administration of the region counted on an instant economic effect, Maxim Smolentsev believes. “Everyone was talking about the prosperous gambling in the country and under this pretext drove the business to the edge of the country. But there were no queues of those wishing to play in a casino in the outskirts, ”he says. His income for the first year of operation of the new casino has dramatically decreased compared to the previous business in Krasnodar by several times.

“Everyone was talking about the prosperous gambling in the country and under this pretext drove the business to the edge of the country. But there were no queues of those wishing to play in a casino on the outskirts”

In September 2010, at the international investment forum in Sochi, the Krasnodar Territory presented a new project for the Golden Sands gambling and entertainment zone in Anapa. The project was ambitious: a shell-shaped hotel with a pearl in the center, a casino with 1,600 machines, 42 waterfront villas, a golf park and a marina. “The Black Sea coast has all the infrastructure and the flow of tourists. The economic effect will be greater and faster than from Azov-City,” Vice Governor Alexei Agafonov assured. The tender was won by the Krasnodar Adaptas (Rus) and wanted to invest more than 16 billion rubles. The object was to be managed by the American company Capella Hotel Group, its president Horst Schulze himself came to the site and “in good sense went crazy from the Kuban, promised to come to Anapa and control the acceptance, ”said then the general director of Adaptas (Rus) Evgeny Gorobets.

But things did not go beyond the pit. Construction was constantly postponed, in addition, during the year, Adaptas (Rus) accumulated debts to the landlord and builders. The company went to court several times, trying to reduce the rent - due to the uncertainty with the opening of a gambling zone near Anapa, the site lost its investment attractiveness. Later, Adaptas (Rus) was declared bankrupt.

After the annexation of Crimea to Russia in the spring of 2014, the concept of organizing the gambling business in the country has changed somewhat. On the legalization of casinos and. about. Governor of the Crimea Sergey Aksyonov spoke already at the end of March: they had planned to develop a gambling cluster here before, and now the new subject of the federation was in dire need of additional economic incentives. The opening of the fifth gambling zone on the peninsula solved this problem - up to 25 billion rubles in the federal budget and a 20% increase in tourist flow. And although the Ministry of Finance in its report by April 2014 recorded the disappointing results of the work of four gambling zones in Russia, emphasizing the futility of the experiment for Crimea, the project was approved six months later, adding Sochi to Crimea.

No worse than Crimea

At a Saturday meeting of the Sochi Public Council in May 2014, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak was in for a surprise. The governor of the region and the mayor of the city have prepared a written appeal with a proposal to arrange a gambling zone within the city of Sochi, in the Imereti Valley. Six months earlier, during the Olympics, Putin had said that gambling spoiled the image of a family resort. Kozak was in solidarity with him: "There are zones in the country, in other territories, let them develop." He was sure that all the real estate built for the Olympics would be in demand after. Moreover, investors who want to quickly return the invested money have extended the term for repaying loans. But the regional authorities insisted that the maintenance of post-Olympic facilities "will be a heavy burden on the budgets of all levels." And taxes from the gambling zone will, for example, support the operation of the Lastochka electric trains, Tkachev added during the meeting.

Back in 2012, investors of the North Caucasus Resorts state-owned company spoke about the re-qualification of Olympic facilities into gambling establishments, but no one supported the idea. After the transfer of the asset to Sberbank, which invested more than 70 billion rubles in the construction of the Gorki Gorod resort in Krasnaya Polyana (of which 52.2 billion rubles was a loan from VEB to Sberbank), German Gref raised the issue. A month before the Olympics, he announced that he would sell a non-core asset (the NAO Krasnaya Polyana company), at least in parts, and there were already interested parties. “There are not so many commercial ideas on how to make the country start earning on the post-Olympic legacy,” he said.

When Gref realized that it was almost impossible to recoup investments in construction, the idea of ​​​​an entertainment center arose, says a businessman familiar with him. “They even wanted to lay a green corridor from the airport so that all foreigners and just rich people would be immediately brought here,” he says. For example, in China, a 55-kilometer bridge is being built that will connect the gaming cluster in Macau with Hong Kong. To the criticism of the government about the proximity of gambling and family leisure, Gref replied: “Not a single ski resort in Switzerland, from Davos to St. Moritz, without a casino would not have received such development.” To reinforce the idea of ​​a "Russian Las Vegas", the head of the bank personally met the owners of the world's largest casinos in Sochi, and they conducted a feasibility study of investments for the zone, says Forbes' interlocutor.

Another argument was the precedent with the Crimea. “The administration of the Krasnodar Territory was offended: they say, why is the famous Russian resort city deprived of preferences, why is it worse than Crimea?” - says the lawyer of Pravovaya Liniya LLC Maria Lepshchikova, who specializes in the gambling business. According to her, in Crimea, they staked on tourists and investors from Turkey, where casinos are prohibited (the Turkish holding Princess International Group was eyeing the zone). Sochi also wanted to attract foreigners, because the travel time both there and there is the same - two hours by plane. On the positive wave of the annexation of Crimea, the state decided to create two new gambling zones, says Lepshchikova. In the summer of 2014, legislators included Sochi and the Republic of Crimea in the list of regions with gambling zones, and they decided to liquidate Azov-City before January 1, 2019.

the right person

To the capital Winter Games Dmitry Anfinogenov was sent as a crisis manager - to raise the economy of hotels that were acquired by the Soyuz Marins Group company, where he worked. Anfinogenov did a good job: in a year he raised the profitability of the objects entrusted to him from 30% to 50%, net profit grew by a third. “Everything could already work without me,” the top manager recalls. Once, when he was having dinner in a cafe at his hotel, two people sat down next to him and started talking. New acquaintances complained that there was not enough drinking water in the rooms. The fact that Dmitry works at the hotel, the guests found out the next day, when they found several sealed bottles in the rooms as if by order.

On the positive wave of the annexation of Crimea, the state decided to create two new gambling zones - Sochi and the Republic of Crimea, and liquidate Azov City

These two turned out to be employees of the supervisory authority - the Omega Center company of the department of property relations of the Krasnodar Territory, which controlled the preparations for the Olympics. They invited Anfinogenov to their place, he was supposed to take care of the hotel fund of 9,200 rooms. “Despite the general hysteria, in the first summer after the Olympics, Omega facilities reached 85% capacity, and without the involvement of large tour operators,” he says. By the end of the year, Omega intended to buy NAO Krasnaya Polyana from Sberbank, but the deal fell through. “The department of property relations (the owner of Omega) did not approve,” explains Anfinogenov. - High risks, high debt load of the facility. Omega also had its own debts of 10 billion rubles.

Losses of NJSC Krasnaya Polyana, which owns large hotels in Gorki Gorod, low-rise townhouses and chalets, amounted to 22 billion rubles in 2014. Operators overestimated the demand for hotel services in the complex - revenue was 70% below the plan. Anfinogenov's experience in crisis management again came in handy: in October 2015, he became the commercial director of the NAO. According to him, the operating loss was less - about 8 billion rubles (the amount of 22 billion included the construction part, for example, Olympic ski jumps on the balance sheet of the NAO) and the task was to optimize the budget. “In 2015, the NAO earned 4 billion rubles, half of which was provided by the hotel fund,” says Anfinogenov. “Taking into account a strong competitor, Rosa Khutor, the figure is very worthy.” In 2016, the loss of Krasnaya Polyana decreased to 1.5 billion rubles, according to Spark-Interfax. By this time, Sberbank had finally found a buyer for the Gorki Gorod resort - the Resort Plus company.

Competition for the zone

In August 2016, Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree on the creation of the Krasnaya Polyana gambling zone in Sochi. In September, the organizer of exhibitions and conferences, Smile Expo, announced the holding of the Russian Gaming Week Sochi conference. There was no doubt that the event would generate interest in the market. Big bookmakers like Bingo Boom really wanted to get into Krasnaya Polyana. “Among all gambling zones, it was of the greatest interest due to its location and infrastructure, incomparable with the Rostov field or the coastal steppe,” says one of the players in this market.

“Among all the gambling zones, Krasnaya Polyana was of the greatest interest due to its location and infrastructure, incomparable with the Rostov field or the coastal steppe”

In the fall of 2016, the name of the first and so far the only resident became known - Domain LLC, registered in December 2015 and owned by Singapore's Silverron International Pte. The fact that it was a young foreign company that got the license through a competition, other players in the gambling market found out after the fact. "There were no auctions," says Maxim Smolentsev. And all further appeals from Shambhala, which wanted to enter the Krasnaya Polyana zone, remained unanswered. According to Dmitry Anfinogenov, who later moved to Domain, the auctions organized by NAO were public, two companies participated in them, including a certain Royal. According to Spark-Interfax, 90% of it belongs to the same Singaporean company, another 10% belongs to Mikhail Danilov, co-owner of Star Beta, Bingo Boom and resident companies of other gambling zones. The general director of Domain LLC is a man also named Mikhail Danilov, but patronymics, according to Spark-Interfax, are different for him and the shareholder of Royal. The Forbes interlocutor knows Danilov as a partner of Rashid Taymasov, co-founder and former CEO of the Kazan Royal Time Group. In July 2018, Taimasov was declared bankrupt.

A former media center with an area of ​​33,000 sq. m, built for the Olympics and successfully connected by a gallery with the Marriott hotel. The renovation of the building was completed in less than six months, attracted by the American bureau Steelman Partners, which designed facilities in Las Vegas and Macau. Then Anfinogenov moved to Domain. The management included many foreigners with impressive experience in foreign casinos - from New Zealand, Austria, part of the team was invited from gambling establishments in Vladivostok, where casinos are commensurate in size with those in Sochi. Investments in the project amounted to 4 billion rubles. For comparison: two residents of the Azov-City zone invested 8 billion rubles in three casinos, two hotels, and several concert halls built from scratch. Maxim Smolentsev admits: “The casino is very beautiful, the work of designers from the States is visible, but the investments are still somewhat overpriced.”

Long awaited casino

Sochi Casino opened for visitors on New Year's Eve. “At the end of December, Arkady Novikov was still walking on cellophane here,” Anfinogenov smiles. The Moscow restaurateur was invited to evaluate two new concepts - Brunello and Buffett. In early February 2017, Sochi Casino hosted a special audience - officials and billionaires. The tour, timed to coincide with the Sochi Investment Forum, was personally conducted by Tkachev through the halls and VIP rooms, says one of the guests of that evening. They didn't play roulette and cards, but there was a concert by the Bi-2 group.

Anfinogenov is satisfied with the first year of operation of Casino Sochi, no gambling establishment discloses its financial performance. The casino even has the unofficial status of a city-forming enterprise, which employs about 1,000 people of 250 professions. “Of course, we are not a hydroelectric power plant, not a metallurgical plant, but we are comparable in terms of the tax base,” the top manager emphasizes. Tax deductions by Casino Sochi for the first year of operation amounted to 507 million rubles (taxes for a gambling establishment are charged based on the number of tables and machines).

The success of the new gambling zone near Sochi is obvious: according to the results of 2017 total number visitors to only one casino amounted to 340,000 people. This figure catches up with Azov City with three casinos, where the annual traffic was 466,000. And already in January 2018, according to Anfinogenov, Sochi overtook Azov City. Guests from more than 120 countries come to Sochi Casino, most of all Russians, citizens of Israel, Turkey and the countries of the former USSR.

So far, it is difficult for the Gorki Gorod resort to compete in popularity with the neighboring Rosa Khutor, especially in winter. “They have 100 km of ski slopes, we have only 30 km,” Anfinogenov notes. At the same time, it is Sochi Casino that guarantees a stable flow of tourists, regardless of the season. “Adding a casino to the wide range of leisure options already on offer helps to soften the seasonality in the mountain cluster, especially in spring and autumn,” confirms Tatyana Veller, head of the hotel business department at JLL. Professional operators, especially high-end hotels, have been looking forward to the casino opening, she says. This had a positive impact on hotel occupancy and revenue.

Anfinogenov sees great potential for the development of a new gambling zone. In "Gorky Gorod" the first hall of slot machines "Bonus" operates. Until the end of 2018, Domaine will open a third entertainment facility already in Rosa Khutor - the Boomerang casino with a restaurant, karaoke, and a nightclub. Investments in the project have not yet been disclosed. “There is no need to invent anything new,” Anfinogenov is sure of the success. “We need to take the successful experience of colleagues and competently adapt it to our country.”

The entertainment industry is developing, perhaps, with no less speed than scientific and technological progress. Now they overlap more and more. This is evidenced by the huge number of offers from online casinos and other sites offering to play for money.

However, the legislator does not stand aside. In this connection, the requirements for gambling have been significantly tightened, and their organization outside the gambling zones established by the state is completely prohibited. So, let's figure out what is gambling according to the laws of the Russian Federation and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Basic concepts

Gambling is usually understood as such an agreement on winning between the organizer and participants, which is based on risk. There may be several participants. They play among themselves or against the organizer. The rules of the game are set by the organizer.

Participation in the lottery is also aimed at winning. However this species activity is permitted and regulated only by administrative norms (14.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). Often, therefore, scammers attempt to disguise casinos and gambling halls as a lottery.

The rules for organizing gambling are clearly regulated by law. In 2015, several amendments were made to the Code of Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code regarding this issue. As a result, the measures applied to persons who violated the ban on gambling outside specially designated areas have been tightened.

Administrative responsibility

The Code of Administrative Offenses deals with gambling in Article 14.1.1. Previously, it provided punishments for individuals whose income from illegal gambling was less than 1,500,000 rubles. Now, citizens are liable for such an act under the Criminal Code, and administrative measures are applied only to legal entities.

According to the first part of Article 14.1.1, those who illegally organized a gambling business outside the prescribed zones face a fine of 700,000 rubles to 1,000,000 rubles. In this case, the equipment will be confiscated. The same punishment threatens those who conduct gambling with the help of telecommunications and the Internet.

Another innovation was the introduction of administrative responsibility for conducting gambling by bookmakers without a special license. The penalty for such a violation is:

• for citizens - 2,000 - 4,000 + confiscation of equipment;
• for officials - 30,000 - 50,000 rubles + confiscation;
• for legal entities - 500,000 - 1,000,000 rubles + confiscation.

If the games are played inside the zone or in licensed bookmakers, but bypassing the established rules, the legal entity will have to pay a fine (300,000 - 500,000 rubles).

If the violation was gross, the fine will be 500,000 - 1,000,000 rubles. In addition, it is possible to suspend the work of the bookmaker for 90 days.

Criminal liability

The disposition of the first part of Article 171.2 of the Criminal Code coincides with the disposition of Article 14.1.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. However, this is about individuals Oh. The previously existing income threshold of 1,500,000 rubles, after which the act was considered a criminal offense, has now been transferred to the qualified composition (part 2) of the article. In other words, if the income from illegal gambling is more than 1.5 million rubles, they speak of a large amount, and if more than 6 million, they speak of an especially large one.

The first part of this article provides for the following measures:

• (up to half a million) or collection of income from the convict (maximum for 3 years);
• (180 - 240 hours);
• (up to 4 years);
• (for 2 years maximum).

If the crime was committed by citizens who agreed in advance, or the amount of income is large, the punishments from the second part of Article 171.2 are imposed:

• fine (up to 1 million rubles) or withdrawal of income (maximum for 5 years);
• imprisonment (up to 4 years), supplemented, at times, with a fine (up to half a million rubles).

The third part of Article 171.2 includes organized groups, persons who receive income from illegal gambling of a particularly large amount, as well as officials who have taken advantage of their position for personal gain. The maximum fine for them is 1.5 million rubles, and prison term- up to 6 years.

So, now you know how the organization and conduct of gambling in in public places according to the articles of legislation, let's talk about underground online casinos.

The video below will tell you more about the tightening of responsibility for organizing gambling:

Are online casinos allowed?

Attitudes towards gambling in the world vary: in some states, their organization is allowed subject to obtaining a license, in others - a license is not needed at all, and in others (and this group includes the Russian Federation) - a ban is imposed on the organization of gambling halls outside special zones.

The same applies to online gambling. The creators of online casinos in Russia will be called to account under Article 171.2 of the Criminal Code. However, if the organizer is a foreign company from a country where this activity is allowed, the only possible sanction is a ban on access to the online casino site. Responsibility is shifted to the Internet provider.

Investigation of cases of illegal organization and conduct of gambling

During the investigation of cases of illegal gambling business, the following points should be established by the investigation team:

• availability of information about gambling;
• the use of special equipment necessary for the games;
• use of the Internet or other information communications for the purpose of organizing an online casino;
• the organizers of gambling have no license to conduct them in the gambling zone.

So how is it going?

1. First of all, the operatives are trying to find out the way the illegal act was committed and the methods by which the attackers tried to cover their tracks. Further, the motives and goals of criminal activity, the amount of income from it, as well as the identity of the criminals are established.
2. The operation to expose the organizers of underground casinos begins with surveillance. Employees watch establishments that arouse suspicion and collect facts.
3. Further, attempts are made to identify the persons who organized the conduct of gambling persons.
4. After collecting enough information, employees make an imaginary transaction in order to check the mechanism of the organization.
5. At the last stage, the documentation is checked and the equipment used for the games is examined.
6. After revealing criminal activity, witnesses, victims and defendants are interviewed, examinations, investigative experiments and face-to-face confrontations are carried out.

Arbitrage practice

Let us give an example of the application of part 2 of article 171.2 of the Criminal Code in its old version.

Example 1 The Presnensky District Court considered such a case. A man and a woman were accused of organizing gambling outside specially designated gambling zones, with a particularly large income.

It was established that the defendants were the operators of the gambling hall machines. Their duties included accommodating guests, issuing game credits to them in exchange for the funds received, and also handing over money in case of winning. The defendants pleaded not guilty, pointing out that they were only fulfilling their obligations under employment contract, but they have nothing to do with the organization of the gambling hall.

Nevertheless, having considered the testimonies of the invited witnesses, the data of the examinations, the protocols, the documents found in the premises, the court came to the conclusion that the defendants were guilty. In view of the fact that both accused persons were characterized positively at the place of residence, were officially employed and had young children, two years in prison were replaced by a suspended sentence.

Example 2 Before the amendments, the first part of Article 171.2 included acts that brought the organizer an income of more than 1.5 million rubles, but less than 6 million. Let's consider a corresponding example.

The court of Naberezhnye Chelny called to account citizen Zakharov, who rented non-residential premises, misleading the landlord in order to organize a gambling hall in it. The accused was aware of the illegality of his actions, since the premises are located outside the gambling zone.

Further, Zakharov ordered gambling equipment, hired staff and began to conduct gambling. The income from the underground casino for the year amounted to about 3 million rubles. Zakharov admitted his guilt, therefore the case was considered in a special order. The defendant was fined (300,000 rubles).

The reform of the gambling business in the country, which started 10 years ago, can celebrate a crushing success. In its legal incarnation, this market has practically died; new "Las Vegas" from the gambling zones specially designated for casinos did not work out. But the good goal of ridding citizens of the temptation of gambling has not been achieved either - 13 million people in Russia played it, and still do. Only now, mostly underground.

In general, the same thing happened that would have happened if the authorities forbade the Russians to drink. It is the same with casinos - passion cannot be cured by a ban. True, citizens were not left without excitement at all. Bookmakers have not only not been banned, but are even flourishing, and now only they can give an objective picture of the volume of legal gambling in the country.

Place your bets gentlemen

According to the Federal Tax Service in 2008, a year before the casino was evicted away from populated areas in the country, there were 5.7 thousand gaming tables and 257 thousand slot machines subject to taxation. The first that year brought the treasury 5.7 billion rubles in taxes, the second - 27.7 billion. At that time there were only four totalizator cash desks, and they paid 4.3 million rubles, and only 29 bookmakers, they received 34.2 million rubles of taxes.

The situation is more than obvious. At the same time, bookmakers state the rapid growth of their market. Now its annual volume, according to a study by the Bookmaker Rating website as of May 2017, is estimated at 650 billion to 700 billion rubles. “We and our partners from the ROMIR Research Holding value it at 677 billion rubles (or about $10 billion),” the company says. The market is divided into two more segments - offline and online. “The online market is leading both in terms of the number of players and the volume of bets: 422 billion rubles are accounted for by bets on the Internet, a little less than half - 255 billion - by bets in PPP,” the researchers explain. According to them, it was the entry into force in 2009 of the norm on the termination of the activities of casinos and gambling machines on the territory of the Russian Federation outside specialized zones in the border areas that gave impetus to the development of the betting industry (the law on a phased ban on the gambling business was adopted in 2007). “When only sports betting and lotteries remained legal out of all the variety of gambling, we experienced a very sharp growth in the market,” confirms Pavel Stepanov, head of the analytical department of the BaltBet group of companies. - It lasted until 2014, when the mandatory identification of players at betting shops was introduced and several new big players appeared at once. After that, the market was gradually saturated and was in a highly competitive stage, when all participants forgot about excess profits and began to optimize costs and increase efficiency.” The experts of the Bookmaker Rating also believe that there will be no growth in the offline sector in the near future, but for the other reason that the current main global trend is the departure of users to online.

poker poker strife

"One of official reasons the ban on the gambling business was the ruin of people, primarily from the middle class and the lower middle class, who are addicted to gambling, ”says the same study of the Bookmaker Rating. “At that time, according to a survey conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation, 17% of the Russian population had ever gambled, and 3% had visited special gambling establishments at least once.” Samoil Binder, Deputy Executive Director of the Russian Association for the Development of Gambling Business (RARIB), sees something anecdotal in this approach to the problem. “Casinos and slot machines are a horror, a nightmare and the murder of everything sacred in a person, and bookmakers, in which the same risk is, live perfectly with us, and no one accuses them of squeezing money from people,” ironically he. “I've been in the gambling business for 20 years, and when I hear that poker is evil and theft, and sports poker is a sport, I don't understand what the difference is.”

Since 2009, all this has disappeared - the gambling business has died. At the same time, says Samoil Binder, everyone forgets another important component of the gambling business, which is usually understood as casinos and slot machines. “As an industry, the gambling business developed independently, without the help of the state,” says Binder. – On the territory of Russia there were about 100 factories that produced one or another product related to the gambling business. it slot machines, gaming tables, specialized engineering equipment. There were two large IT enterprises in Moscow that made software for the gambling business and related restaurants and nightclubs. In addition, there were a lot of small enterprises that provided the gambling business with various products. Each major casino entered into agreements with at least 150-180 enterprises, ranging from toothpicks to huge engineering devices, video security services.

This industry, according to Binder, gave more than $2 billion in tax payments annually. “We were ready to give even more, went to the State Duma and the Federation Council, wrote to the president about increasing taxation and limiting casino visits to people for whom losing money would be a problem,” he says. - All this was put under the cloth and did not begin to deal with it. That is, it was a huge industry, but everything collapsed in one moment.

Eight years in the zone

The casino was sentenced to zones. There are six of them in total - Azov City in the Krasnodar Territory, Siberian Coin in Altai, Primorye in Primorsky, Yantarnaya in the Kaliningrad Region, Krasnaya Polyana in Sochi and Krym in Crimea. Except for the last one, which is still in the design stage, all the others are considered active. But at the same time, the Federal Tax Service calls only two active - Azov City and Siberian Coin. However, they can hardly be considered valid. “All this was only on paper - no one built anything, did nothing. The only thing is that the Krasnodar Territory quickly figured out and built a huge hangar with the guys from Tatarstan (“Azov-city.” - “Profile”), and called it a gambling zone,” says Binder. - In fact, this is not so, because the gambling zone implies not only and not so much casinos and slot machine halls, but the entire infrastructure where people should relax. There wasn’t anything like that, and there isn’t much now.”

In the Krasnodar Territory, a whole drama unfolded with the casino. Five years ago, Anapa was attached to Azov City. But, as the media wrote, nothing was built on a plot of 1 thousand hectares during this time, and the investment company Adaptas (Rus) LLC (with the ultimate beneficiary in the Virgin Islands) accumulated tax debts of 485 million rubles. Now it is clear that not only will nothing be built there, but Azov City itself will soon disappear. Since the beginning of 2019, the federal government ordered to close it and develop a casino in Sochi, and no two zones in the same region. “Relatively little money was invested in Azov City, and their performance was small - and the profits were small, and the taxes were small,” says Binder. “Now they are trembling because a new zone is opening in Sochi, and they will be closed.”

"Primorye" is being built in the Artemovsky urban district of the Primorsky Territory, not far from Vladivostok. Construction will continue until 2022. “According to the plan, 16 hotels are provided different category, entertainment centers, ski slopes,” says Ballo. – The project is divided into three phases. The first was to be completed at the end of last year and provided for the commissioning of the first five hotels and casinos. The total capital investment was estimated at $1.8 billion.” In Vladivostok, the start was encouraging, says Binder: “The Chinese have built everything there – great buildings and equipment. But we must keep in mind that the Chinese built not for us, but for themselves. In Macau, they made a southern playing area, and in Vladivostok they want to make a northern one. After all, a Chinese cannot go abroad with money, but he can come to the bank that owns the casino, put money there, come to Russia with a card, play. If he wins, he will deposit the money in a Chinese bank. If he loses, the money will still end up in a Chinese bank. The Russian budget will naturally receive VAT from restaurant business, slot machine tax, income tax. But all this is a trifle compared to what the country could earn.”

The Yantarnaya zone is being built on the coast of the Baltic Sea, not far from Kaliningrad. “There are plans to build several casinos, sports arenas and concert halls. The approximate amount of investments is 600 billion rubles,” says Ballo. However, Binder believes that in Kaliningrad there is “a complete stupor”: “We tried to do something in this Yantarnaya, but it was sluggish and unproductive.” “The past 10 years since the adoption of the law have clearly demonstrated that it has not achieved its goals,” agrees Ballo. - Neither serious investors, nor players massively went to the zones. The planned terms for their development are significantly violated everywhere, which means that the budgets of all levels will lose the planned additional income.”

Building a casino in the absence of roads (after all, you need to somehow get to each one) and infrastructure is difficult and expensive. And the qualification for those wishing to open their own casino is quite impressive. “The tax authorities take a tax on the gambling business, and ask them: what is the main criterion by which you can get a license? And they will answer you: you need to entity had net assets worth at least a billion rubles. But after all, when you pay taxes on assets, you also declare it. Therefore, if a gambling establishment with an area of ​​​​a thousand or five thousand square meters pays all taxes, then it is simply unprofitable, it is easier to put up 5-10 restaurants,” explains Binder.

Underfloor and roof

According to a survey by the Levada Center, this year 4.8 million people in Russia play card games, 2.4 million - in casinos and slot machines. But if only a few are sent to the zones, then where are the rest? “A holy place is never empty, and this entire huge market from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad has been occupied by crime,” says Binder. “He has created hundreds of casinos across the country and thousands of slot machine halls, from which, of course, he does not pay taxes. At first they said they would fight it. But eight years have passed, and until now, here and there, such underground establishments are regularly found. Here is a list of news for the query "gambling business" only for the last two weeks: residents of Primorye opened an underground casino in the center of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk; in Voronezh, a network of underground casinos was liquidated; owners of illegal gambling business in Kursk earned almost 37 million rubles; a Ugra resident organized a casino in a grocery store; In Yoshkar-Ola, an underground casino was closed. And so it is all over the country.

Along the way, you can also find related news - about, for example, that a policeman who protected the gambling business went to a general regime colony. And this is another problem. “The depressing circumstance was that the gambling business itself went underground almost everywhere, and what is most negative, law enforcement agencies began to “protect” it,” says Ballo. And here it is impossible not to remember loud scandal 2011, called the "case of Moscow region prosecutors", when a number of law enforcement officers were accused of protecting underground casinos. But this case, although loud, is far from exceptional, Binder laments. “People come to some district or region and determine who is the chief of the security forces there, who depends on whom,” he describes an approximate scheme for such a “business” organization. - And if, for example, in the Moscow region there were prosecutors at the head of all this, then they would come to the prosecutors and honestly say: “I’m opening a case there. I ask you for three years." And three years later, exactly on the same day - mask shows, television.

Illegal online business also stands apart here. Even in the betting sector, it prevails. According to the "Rating of Bookmakers", out of the total turnover on the Internet, estimated at 422 billion rubles, 274 billion are accounted for by the illegal sector. Online casinos are banned in Russia, but, as you might guess, such bans for the Internet are not a big hindrance. “You have to fight - fight,” says Binder. - But if all the equipment is in Borneo or some islands, then it is difficult to deal with it. Of course, you can block all this, but then everything will appear again. Therefore, for now, people who own online casinos do not complain.”

Gambling migration

In total, in Russia, according to the Levada Center, 13.2 million people, or 11% of the adult population of the country, regularly play gambling. For comparison: in the UK there are approximately 26 million such players (48% of the population). By the way, in this country, according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the low-stakes entertainment and gambling industry brings in £2 billion of GDP, supports the employment of 34 thousand citizens and replenishes the budget by £270 million in VAT and taxes from the activity of slot machines. Successfully earn on this and in neighboring Belarus. As the local Ministry of Taxes and Duties reported at the end of June, the gambling business brought 45.4 million Belarusian rubles to the treasury in 2016. At the same time, there are only 100 such taxpayers in the country, but they bring more to the budget than pulp and paper enterprises or food manufacturers.

AT last years casino tours to Belarus have become extremely popular in Russia, and it is the Russians who largely replenish the budget of the friendly republic. However, they go to bet not only there. Those who have more money, says Binder, go to Monaco, those who have less go to Georgia, the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Before the ban in 2009, more than 400 thousand people worked in the gambling business with an average age of 24.5 years. “And now many of those who did not want to change their profession are working in Georgia, in Belarus, in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, in Peru, in Chile,” he says. “And if you go on some huge American ship, for example, in the Caribbean, then there are casinos everywhere where our compatriots work with you.”

Can Russia make money from the gambling business again? “ADIB has an unambiguous understanding that there should be one owner in the gambling business - the state represented by a specially created independent body, and the gambling business itself has been turned into a civilized, attractive form of recreation with an extensive infrastructure that meets the best international standards,” Ballo assures. The association he leads has prepared special calculations and road maps in case the idea is accepted. But this is unlikely to happen, Binder believes: “Vladimir Putin is categorically against the gambling business. He was also Anatoly Sobchak's deputy in St. Petersburg, and one of the industries he oversaw was the gambling business. And his friend Alexei Kudrin was the chairman of the St. Petersburg gambling commission. Well, they don't want to deal with it. Therefore, while Putin is at the helm, no one will change anything in the gambling business.”

The first machines began to be installed in 1988 - in the hotels of the USSR State Committee for Tourism. In his system, VHVO "Intourservice" was formed, which developed new types additional services for foreign tourists with payment in freely convertible currency. In the first year, 226 cash winning slot machines were installed in Intourist hotels in Moscow, Leningrad, Sochi, Yalta, Minsk, Tallinn, Vyborg and Pyatigorsk.

The first casino in the USSR, Astoria Palace, opened in the Estonian SSR in the spring of 1989 at the Palace Hotel in Tallinn. The second casino was opened in Moscow on August 23, 1989 at the Savoy Hotel.

In 2005, the turnover of this sphere amounted to $5,000,000,000-6,000,000,000, there were about 400,000 slot machines and 5,000 gaming tables in the country. By 2006, over 6,300 gambling licenses had been issued.

Up to 60% of domestic gambling clubs were concentrated in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The industry leaders were Ritzio Entertainment Group (Vulcan network), Storm International (Super Slots network and several casinos in Moscow and St. Petersburg) and Jackpot company.

State regulation of the organization and conduct of gambling is carried out by:

1. establishing the procedure for carrying out activities for the organization and conduct of gambling and relevant restrictions, mandatory requirements for the organizers of gambling, gambling establishments, visitors to gambling establishments, gambling zones;
2. allocation of territories intended for the implementation of activities for the organization and conduct of gambling - gambling zones;
3. issuance of permits for the implementation of activities for the organization and conduct of gambling in gambling zones;
4. issuance of licenses for the implementation of activities for the organization and conduct of gambling in bookmakers and sweepstakes;
5. detection, prohibition and suppression of the activities of persons engaged in the organization and conduct of gambling in violation of the legislation on state regulation organizing and conducting gambling activities.

The law provides that 4 gambling zones are created, while no more than one gambling zone can be created on the territory of one subject. If the created gambling zone lies in several regions, then other gambling zones cannot be created on their territory. Gambling zones are being created on the territory of the Altai Territory, Primorsky Territory, Kaliningrad Region, as well as on the border of the Krasnodar Territory and the Rostov Region. The procedure for the creation and liquidation of gambling zones, their names, boundaries, as well as other parameters of gambling zones are determined by the government in agreement with the authorities state power subjects.

The duration of gambling zones is unlimited. The decision to liquidate the gambling zone by the government cannot be made before the expiration of 10 years from the date of its creation. The decision to create a gambling zone may set requirements for certain types of gambling establishments, as well as other restrictions. In the event that within 3 years from the date of obtaining a permit to organize and conduct gambling in the gambling zone, the organizer of gambling has not started to carry out activities to organize and conduct gambling in the relevant gambling zone, this permit is cancelled.

Gambling establishments, with the exception of betting shops and sweepstakes, may be opened only on the territory of gambling zones in accordance with the procedure established by this bill. At the same time, gambling zones must be created before July 1, 2007 and cannot be created on the lands of settlements.

Gambling zones are managed by the authorized state authorities of the subject. The governing bodies of gambling zones, which include parts of the territories of several subjects, are determined on the basis of an agreement between the state authorities of the respective subjects.

The organizer of gambling is obliged to provide the information necessary to monitor compliance with the requirements of the law. The net assets of the organizer of gambling during the entire period of activity cannot be less than: 600,000,000 rubles (for organizers of gambling in casinos and slot machine halls) and 100,000,000 rubles (for organizers of gambling in bookmakers and sweepstakes). The procedure for calculating the value of the net assets of organizers of gambling is established by the Ministry of Finance, while the government may establish additional requirements for organizers of gambling.

Visitors to the gambling establishment cannot be persons under the age of 18 years.

A gambling establishment should be divided into a service area for gamblers and a service area of ​​a gambling establishment. The service area for gamblers in the casino cannot be less than 800 square meters. At least 10 gaming tables must be installed in the service area of ​​the casino. In the case of installing slot machines in the service area of ​​the casino, the area of ​​the slot machine area cannot be less than 100 square meters, and at least 50 slot machines must be located in this area. Technologically, the average winning of a slot machine must be at least 90%.

The law came into force on January 1, 2007, while gambling establishments that meet the established requirements are entitled to continue their activities until June 30, 2009 without obtaining permission to organize and conduct gambling in the gambling zone. All gambling establishments that do not meet the requirements established by this bill must be closed before July 1, 2007. Gambling activity using information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet, as well as communication facilities, including mobile communications, is prohibited.

The location of the gambling zone in the south of the country is determined near the village of Port-Katon in the Azov district of the Rostov region, bordering on the Shcherbinovsky district of the Krasnodar Territory. The distance from Rostov-on-Don to Port-Katon is about 80 km, from Krasnodar - about 300 km.

July 1, 2009 the gambling business is closed. In February 2010, the first casino "Oracle" was opened in the gambling zone "Azov-City".

However, later it was decided to liquidate the gambling zone of Azov City, and to build a cadet corps or a military unit in its place. .

As a result, over the past 3 years since the closure of the gambling business, the number of underground gambling establishments in cities has increased dramatically. The media constantly report on the closure of underground casinos by the police.

see also

Notes

Links

• The State Duma approved the creation of four Russian Las Vegas

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