Russian Casinos subject to mass closure

In a decision that would be difficult for the west to understand the Russian Government have ordered the closure of all casinos by the end of June and all casino gaming banned. This bizarre situation which has recently been reported in the Independent states that the old casinos will be forced to close and there will be special gambling zones where casino gaming will be legal although in all other areas the same games will be banned. So on the surface this looks like casino gaming will not be under a total ban, however the special zones have not as yet been built never mind opened.

This strange proposal to close all casino gaming operations in the whole of the country was agreed some three years ago, and the Russian Government were at the time of the belief that the special casino gaming zones would be completed and operational by the time the new law came into effect. The four designated casino gaming zones would be similar to Las Vegas providing a hub of casino gaming, they would be strictly regulated and would be situated in Siberia, one would be close to the Black Sea, one would be located on the Pacific Coast and another near Kalingrad. The Russian Government are keen to remove what they consider to be the danger of gambling from the city centres and to encourage tourism.

The one area that would remain unaffected would be poker, the authorities in Moscow believe this to be a sport and as such is not considered to be under the same classification. The report in the Independent states that casino gaming venues will use this loophole to operate under the title of Poker sports clubs rather than casinos. However the authorities are likely to only allow poker to be played in such clubs and alcohol and cigarettes will be banned. It is estimated by the Casino industry trade Union that the ban will mean that 500,000 people will lose their jobs.