Russia turns Olympic site into casino zone!
24 July 2014 6:20 AM IST
Russia has designated Sochi’s Olympic site and the annexed Crimean peninsula as gambling areas on Wednesday, in a bid that casino revenues will boost their development. Under the law signed by President Vladimir Putin casinos will be legal in some areas of the former Olympic park in Sochi, where Russia hosted the Winter Games in February.
Additionally, the law gives regional authorities in Crimea the right to designate their own casino zones on the peninsula, which Moscow annexed in March after a separatist uprising against Ukraine.
The Sochi Games, though widely recognised as a success, cost Russia some USD 50 billion. Some investors have already complained the resorts are loss-making, and the Vneshekonombank development bank, which loaned billions of dollars toward construction, has asked the government to bail out its borrowers, Russian media reported recently.
Russia banned casinos throughout most of the country in 2009, restricting them to four areas: the southern Krasnodar region north of Sochi, the Altai mountains, the Far East, and the western enclave of Kaliningrad. They have not been a commercial success due to the remoteness of the areas and a lack of tourism infrastructure.
Additionally, the law gives regional authorities in Crimea the right to designate their own casino zones on the peninsula, which Moscow annexed in March after a separatist uprising against Ukraine.
The Sochi Games, though widely recognised as a success, cost Russia some USD 50 billion. Some investors have already complained the resorts are loss-making, and the Vneshekonombank development bank, which loaned billions of dollars toward construction, has asked the government to bail out its borrowers, Russian media reported recently.
Russia banned casinos throughout most of the country in 2009, restricting them to four areas: the southern Krasnodar region north of Sochi, the Altai mountains, the Far East, and the western enclave of Kaliningrad. They have not been a commercial success due to the remoteness of the areas and a lack of tourism infrastructure.
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