New gambling zones and rules for betting shops: key gambling events

Investors will receive compensation after gambling zone closing, betting SROs will be cancelled in Russia, while Stavropol can establish a new gambling zone. These and other gambling industry events are described in our digest.

State Duma imposes new rules for Russian betting shops

The State Duma of the Russian Federation has adopted a bill forbidding betting shops and betting pools to accept bets on competitions for children and young people.

According to the new rules, betting providers are also obliged to inform professional sports leagues and federations of accepted bets and paid off winnings. A volume of all payable costs should be specified as well.

Besides, the changes have affected the application of symbols. Now, betting operators should conclude a formal agreement with all-Russian sports federations when using competition names.

One will help former Azov City personnel to get a job

Yury Burlachko, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnodar Territory, urges to provide Azov City employees with new jobs. The liquidation of this gambling zone was announced three years ago. It will be closed in January 2019.

Some specialists have already found a new job, while others have been offered employment at a new gambling zone in Sochi. According to Sergey Tsirulnik, Head of Scherbinovsky region, the reduced staff will receive all duepayoffs.

Currently, the authorities of Kuban are considering the ways of using the Azov City infrastructure in the future. One has already offered to restructure the gambling zone into an industrial park.

Stavropol to open a gambling zone

Stavropol Territory is again raising the possibility of establishing a gambling zone. Vladimir Vladimirov, Governor of Stavropol, states that it will attract more tourists to the region.

According to Mr. Vladimirov, about 40,000 people leave Russia in order to visit casinos in Georgia. The Territory authorities believe that a gambling zone in Caucasia will supplement the regional budget with approximately 1.5 billion RUB.

However, Russia’s Ministry of Finance has not supported the idea yet, because the gambling law is not aimed at the development of travel industry.

Investors to be compensated for gambling zone closing

Investors in Russia will be able to obtain a compensation for gambling zone liquidation. Such a bill is passed in the first reading at the State Duma.

The bill means that if less than 10 years have passed since the establishment of the gambling zone, its boundaries can be changed, or it can be liquidated, only by the Government of the Russian Federation. In this case, all the damages will be paid to investors.

Funds will be provided by the budget of the territorial entity of the Russian Federation where a zone is located. The rules won’t refer to the Azov City gambling zone.

Russia can cancel betting SROs

The State Duma has discussed an issue of cancelling self-regulating betting organizations and betting pools. The Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation is preparing a corresponding bill.

Representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Tax Service, and the Central Bank consider betting SROs inefficient, but the organizations do not agree with this opinion.

According to Nikolai Oganezov, Chairman of the subcommittee of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, the cancellation will have a negative impact on the center of tracking the interactive bet transactions.

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