Casinos in Russia will close their doors from 1 July

One of the largest mass layoffs in the recent history of Russia must be done today hui... Indeed, the plan of the Government of Vladimir V. Poutine anti-vice, all casinos and slot machine parlors will close their doors today today, Wednesday, July 1. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people will now become unemployed.

In an attempt to save some of these jobs, the Government decided to move the game industry in four areas of Russia (to more than 4,000 miles from the capital). Marketing slogans like «come to the Las Vegas of Siberia» or «Play roulette near the border of North Korea» seems perhaps not inviting, but c is in part what the Government plans. Casinos on Russian territory will be now limited to the region of the Altai (in Siberia), the coastal region of l far East (near North Korea and China), Kaliningrad (a Russian enclave between the Poland and the Lithuania), as well as the d Azov Sea region (in the South). These regions are not ready for the transfer and no casino is expected to open d here several years. Until the opening of new casinos in these regions, the Russia will be one of the few countries in Europe without casino, albeit 'illegal' casinos are likely d be set up.

The law at the origin of this decision was introduced in 2006 by Vladimir Poutine, then president and now Prime Minister, in response to the dangers of the tables of blackjack and the mafia with a control on the game industry. The casinos have repeatedly asked a reprieve by proposing a regulatory body, without success. Although the industry earns more d a billion dollars in taxes, M. Poutine and his protégé, president Dmitri A. Medvedev, n have not given: ' r' rules will not be revised in any way ", said Mr Medvedev last month.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, games of chance are born everywhere in Russia. The industry was largely unregulated, in particular over the past years where almost any who could obtain a license for as little as $ 50.

With the closure of July 1, some casinos will attempt to spend a private space for poker clubs which, according to them, will be authorized by law. But these clubs are less lucrative and employ very few workers.

Some argue the idea that for many Russians, the only way to play will be online. Only the future will tell us if this will create an influx on the various online poker rooms.

Source: New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/world/europe/29casinos.html?_r=2 & em