Russian casinos can be granted a deferment
As the Tvoy Den newspaper was informed the government is considering the options for repeal of the prohibition on gambling in Moscow that would come into force in 2009. The question is about prolongation of the terms till 2012.
According to sources in the White House, the existing situation in gambling business was discussed last week at the closed meeting. It was decided to put on the agenda the issue on extension of the term fixed for relocation of all gambling business to four gambling zones for three more years.
The law “On state regulation of activities involved in gambling organization and arrangement” was adopted in 2006. And until recently, despite of numerous attempts made by lobbyists of gambling in parliament and public organizations to reconsider it, it was not the gambling business which was winning the struggle for a place under the sun – the date of "relocating" to four special zones was approaching inevitably.
However, it looks like the situation has changed now: not the State Duma but the government can act as the initiator of reconsideration. Alexander Shokhin, Chairman of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs sent up a trial balloon in March of this year submitting a letter to Alexey Kudrin, Head of the Ministry of Finance, with the offer to repeal the prohibition on gambling due to unavailability of game zones and negative financial and social consequences of this step. In fact the budget would lose billions of rubles, and hundreds of thousands of citizens would become unemployed.
And in the beginning of July the deputy of the State Duma from “United Russia” Alexander Popov introduced a bill into Parliament providing for a delay of relocation of gambling business till 2012.
According to the Tvoy Den information, the government despite of previously negative reaction to similar initiatives has been compelled to estimate the situation realistically. Having discussed the problem at the closed meeting, the cabinet members decided to consider this option. As the source of the Tvoy Den newspaper asserts, the critical arguments in favor of such decision were not huge expenses for business withdrawal and budget losses, but the criminal threat. The conducted analysis has shown that illegal gambling business will replace legal one that will finally make it uncontrollable. And it threatens with changing Moscow into explosive Chicago of the 1920-ies.
Tvoy Den