| All Bets Are Off For Russian Casinos |
Casinos in Russia will be closed down on July 1 as part of former President Putin’s plan to contain gambling addiction in the country. In replacement will be four designated gambling zones located outside the major cities.Operators will have to move their businesses to Russia's western Kaliningrad exclave; along the Azov Sea in the south; in the Altai region of Siberia; and in the far eastern Primorye region, near North Korea and Japan. These gambling zones are at least 600 miles from Moscow.
The Russian capital has around 550 gambling venues, including 30 casinos which have become very popular with Moscow's super wealthy. The move will put 1000’s of staff out of a job overnight.
The new gambling zones were proposed to be set up in time for the change over, however reports suggest that construction work hasn’t even started yet. With some industry insiders speculating that no one will be prepared to travel all that way.
The loss to the Russian economy is expected to be in the Billions of rubles.
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