Shambhala Director: 5 plausible reasons against closing Azov-City

Director of the Shambala casino, Maxim Smolentsev expressed his point of view on the upcoming closing of the gaming zone Azov-City, where the casino is located. He gave plausible arguments against such a decision.

1. Abnormal losses for the budget of the Krasnodar Territory. In 2011, the deductions amounted to 86 million rubles, in 2016 - 200 million rubles. We shouldn’t forget about the loss of jobs.

“The region loses taxes, people lose work, authorities lose credibility,” says Smolentsev.

2. Krasnaya Polyana in Sochi does not win anything indeed.

“Target audience of Azov-City includes residents of Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar and surrounding areas. We are located 600 km from the Krasnaya Polyana. Our audience will never go there”, he explained.

3. Azov-City is the first and, therefore, the most experienced gaming zone in Russia. We shouldn’t neglect the knowledge of the operators running their business there.

“At the moment, only Krasnaya Polyana private company has the right to decide where, when and which casino to open, and we, the most experienced figures in the gaming business of the Russian Federation, have been deprived of the right to choose,” complains the director of Shambhala.

4. The very location of the new Sochi gaming zone is against the idea of remoteness of gambling facilities from the society.

“When going to restaurants and cafes, thousands of customers at the Marriott Hotel, including children, see gaming machines located 10 meters away from them!" he said.

5. Slowdown of the development of other gaming zones of the country: Yantarnaya in the Kaliningrad region, Primorye in the Primorsky region, Siberian coin in the Altai Territory.

“Even before the opening of Azov-City, the authorities promised investors 50 years of quiet work. And what now? Investors of other gaming zones monitor the situation in the gambling industry and now having a flawed example of Azov-City, they can be afraid and stop investing into the development of these projects.” Smolentsev noted.

According to the current legislation only one gaming zone can operate on the territory of one subject of the Russian Federation. After opening the Krasnaya Polyana in Sochi, the issue of closing the Azov-City operating in the Shcherbinovsky and Yeisksky districts was raised: until January 1, 2019, it is to be liquidated.

According to the materials of the news portal “Delovaya Gazeta.yug”.