The Russian government is considering moving one of its special zones for legal gambling, following the failure of Azov City in southern Russia due to a lack of infrastructure, Vedomosti reported on Thursday.
The paper quotes sources in the gambling business in the area who claim Krasnodar Governor Alexander Tkachyov, wrote to President Dmitry Medvedev several weeks ago proposing to move the gambling zone to the nearby resort city of Anapa on the Black Sea coast.
Tkachyov said the move was needed as Azov City was too far from population centers and had no appeal to investors or gamblers. The president has instructed the government to study the proposal.
Krasnodar Deputy Governor Alexei Agafonov said the administration had proposed moving Azov City to "a new territory on the Black Sea coast."
He stressed that, contrary to media reports, the target area was not Anapa. It will be a new, family-type resort, he said, adding that the new gaming area would not be located in a population center but on "free territory."
"We want to build a new, high-quality family-type resort," Agafonov said, adding that casinos would only account for one-third of its infrastructure while the remaining two-thirds would be beaches and entertainment and leisure facilities.
He said the administration was ready to invest a total of 2.5 billion rubles in resort infrastructure development.
The deputy governor moved to allay the concerns of investors who had already sunk their cash into Azov City, stressing that their interests would not be hurt and they would be amply compensated.
"If an affirmative decision is made, not a single investor will lose a cent," he said.
A ban on gambling, except in four special zones in remote parts of Russia, came into force in July 2009. The four areas where gaming is permitted are Azov City on the borders of the Krasnodar Territory and Rostov Region, a zone in the Altai Mountains, Amber in Russia's Kaliningrad exclave and a zone in the Primorye Region in Russia's Far East.
"Since the law came into effect it has become increasingly clear that no one wants to go to these zones, but Anapa has a modern airport, beaches and tourists," Deputy of the lower house of the Russian parliament Gleb Khor said.
He has introduced an amendment to the gambling law bill to the Duma that envisages removing the Rostov Region from the list of approved gaming areas. In addition, his amendment proposes suspending the ban on gambling for ten years from the date it was introduced. The amendment has already been approved by the Duma Economic Policy Committee.
Vedomosti says no decision has been made on the Krasnodar governor's proposals. The area is the closest to completion of the four approved gaming zones, with investors having already sunk $10 million into casinos there.
"We're in shock, and we don't understand," said Alexander Odintsov, Director of Odis group, which has rented a 1.5 hectare site in Azov City and had plans to invest 12 billion rubles in a gambling hall there. "There have been rumors, but they've said nothing officially, although we are in continual dialogue with the authorities."
MOSCOW, August 12 (RIA Novosti)
