Slot machines to be knocked out
The decision to speed up the closure of slot halls was taken by Economic Development Committee, which had developed the legislation “On measures for implementation of the Federal Law “On state regulation of activities involved in gambling organization and arrangement and on amending some of the RF legislative regulations”. The city law will have slot halls closed by July 1st, 2008. 17 city casinos will operate till 2009.
"The major motivation for this decision to have been made is the city residents` demands to clear it from slot halls. We are Saint Petersburg not Las Vegas!” declared the Governor Valentina Matvienko.
"At the moment there are 571 facilities in Petersburg. And 116 slot halls are operating illegally”, remarked Alexey Sergeev, the Chairman of Economic Development Committee.
On losing slot halls the city will also be deprived of tax revenues from gambling – 2.5bn rubles a year. Valentina Matvienko is sure of Saint Petersburg`s ability to earn the amount in another way, and the 11 thousand people who are going to lose work due to the closure of the gambling facilities are advised to go to other service industry enterprises, where, according to Matvienko, employees are wanted as well.
The Governor is not afraid that gambling business will “fall back into the shadow”. “It is not that easy to arrange shadow business. Even if it happens, they will be visited by a particular contingent, not teenagers”, she commented.
Dp.ru