Crimea: Bill on gambling zone introduced in Duma

However, at the moment there is no agreement of opinion among chief executives of Crimea as to the idea of establishing fifth gaming zone on the peninsula. Acting as head of the Republic, Sergey Aksenov stated that the casino will only be located in one of the regions of the peninsula.

Previously, the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation opposed creation of the gaming zone in Crimea and put forward an assumption that this idea is unlikely "to be seriously considered at the government level". "The residents of Crimea voted in favor of joining Russia not to establish a gambling zone on this territory", the Civic Chamber stated.

In 2009, a law prohibiting casinos outside of designated areas was established in Russia. As of today, of all the gambling zones provided, only one is in use – it is "Azov-City", located on the border of the Krasnodar Territory and Rostov Region. The first legal casino there opened in January 2010. In winter 2013-2014 Sochi, where the XXII Winter Olympic Games were held was considered as one of the potential gambling zones.

On 4-5 June 2014 Moscow ECC "Sokolniki" will host a conference to be held in the framework of the VIII International gaming expo-forum Russian Gaming Week. Leading experts of the gambling business and invited experts will meet to discuss the opportunities and difficulties of establishing the fifth gambling zone in Crimea. Valeriy Ivanov, Chairman of the Russian Association of Gambling Business Development, as well as other competent experts, will report on this issue.

Representatives of professional associations and unions, government agencies and gambling zones, owners and managers of online and offline casinos, poker, bookmakers’ offices and licenses, owners of casino licenses, lottery organizers, managers of dealing centers, suppliers of equipment for gaming industry, representatives of insurance and investment companies are invited to attend the conference.