Azov-City Gambling Zone to Emerge in Southern Russia

Russia’s Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov inked a ruling to set up a gambling zone, Azov-City, in the Scherbinovsky district of Krasnodar area and the Azov district of Rostov region, the RF government’s press service reported.

The gambling zone will extend to 20.022 million sq meters, covering a portion of the Krasnodar area and the Rostov region in southern Russia.

Pursuant to the RF laws, all gambling houses in Russia are to move to four zones by July 1, 2009 – the Kaliningrad region, the Altai Republic, the Primorie area and to the territory on the border of the Rostov region and the Krasnodar area. But book-maker’s offices may operate outside the gambling zones. The laws also ban any gambling activities via the telecom nets, including Internet.

It is worth mentioning that the federal budget appropriates some 18 billion rubles to develop tourist and recreation facilities in the South Federal District from 2008 through 2012. The money is provided under the Russia’s South Federal Target Program.