Russia´s Putin moves to restrict gambling to unpopulated areas
Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a bill restricting the flourishing gambling business in Russia to four sparsely populated territories, two of them in the European part of Russia, another in Siberia, and the other in Russia’s Far East.
During the meeting with the lawmakers, Putin expressed the hope for the soonest approval of the amendments to the law on gambling.
“The approach will change fundamentally. Plans are to assign no more than four restricted territories where gambling would be allowed,” Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov was quoted by Interfax as saying after a Kremlin meeting between the president and heads of Duma factions yesterday.
Gryzlov said that two areas would be assigned in European Russia, one in Siberia and one in the Far East. These areas are supposed to be uninhabited, he said. “At present, territories free from residents are offered,” he was quoted by Itar-Tass as saying. “These will be new areas in the flatlands, in the woods,” Vice Speaker from the Liberal Democratic Party Vladimir Zhirinovsky added.
During the meeting with the lawmakers, Putin expressed the hope for the soonest approval of the amendments to the law on gambling: “I’m hoping Duma lawmakers will finalize the bill and approve it in the nearest future. It should fundamentally change the situation in this sphere.”
The president noted that “police had zeroed in on a number of entertainment and gambling centers. It is another reason to address the problem on the whole,” the head of the state said. This, as does the alcoholization of the population, causes serious moral and often material damage to the Russians, he said.
Meanwhile, Russian authorities shut down Moscow’s two largest casinos, one called Golden Palace on Wednesday and the other called Crystal on Tuesday. Police raided the casinos and cited similar violations at both of them, including violations of sanitary regulations. Police also said that Golden Palace did not have licenses for 58 gambling tables and 144 gambling machines.
The clampdown on casinos was an unexpected outcome of the ongoing political crisis in Russia’s relationship with Georgia as police officials said on a condition of anonymity that the casinos were run by mob bosses of Georgian descent.