Russian lower house of parliament backs gambling zones, new curbs
Russia's lower house of parliament on Friday backed sweeping gambling legislation that would close down casinos across the country and force them to relocate into four designated zones.
The State Duma voted 425-0 on a key second reading to pass the Kremlin-backed legislation, which would set up the four special regions by July 1, 2009.
All gambling and slot machine businesses — including those in Moscow where casinos and slot halls appear to be virtually on every street corner — would have to close and move to the Primorsky, Altai, Rostov/Krasnodar or Kaliningrad regions.
Primorsky is a Pacific region, wedged between the Sea of Japan and China; while Kaliningrad is an exclave located on the Baltic Sea and cut off from Russia proper by Lithuania and Belarus. The Rostov/Krasnodar regions are located along the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, while Altai is a mountainous region along the borders with Kazakhstan and Mongolia.
New rules would also go into effect on Jan. 1, 2007, setting up minimum age limits for casino-goers, a minimum number of gambling tables and slot machines for establishments to operate and other restrictions.
Lawmakers in the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, which dominates the Duma, have long pushed for gaming halls to be located outside city limits, blaming a surge in cases of gambling addiction on companies that control the multibillion-dollar (euro) industry.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, gambling in Russia has exploded, with slot machines alone raking in an estimated US$3.6 billion (ˆ2.8 billion) last year.