Crimea and Sochi See Future as Gambling Centers | Business | The Moscow Times
▻http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/crimea-and-sochi-see-future-as-gambling-centers/503018.html
The State Duma passed a new law Friday bringing Crimea and, in a surprise move, post-Olympic resort town Sochi into the select group of Russian regions and territories that are allowed to establish gambling zones.
“The creation of a gambling zone in the Republic of Crimea will help attract additional investment in the region, create new jobs and replenish the revenue base of the regional budget,” said Anatoly Karpov, first deputy chairman of the Duma’s Economic Policy, Innovation Development and Entrepreneurship Committee, ITAR-Tass reported.
The Russian government essentially outlawed gambling in 2009, restricting it to four designated zones throughout Russia, but only one, the Azov-City gambling complex on the border of the Krasnodar and Rostov regions, has taken brought its special privilege to fruition. Similar zones in the Kaliningrad region, Primorye region and the republic of Altai are still under construction five years on.
In a surprise move, legislators inserted a clause into the bill during its second reading that allows