Game zone in Russia. "Azov-City" - our Las Vegas

For those whose passion is sport, and passion is nature, the desire to win and win must be the second "I". Realize such features of character is possible only in one place - in a casino. Where today can be legally played in a casino in Russia?

The conditions for the existence of gambling establishments in the Russian Federation are determined by the law, which states that for their location special territories should be allocated. Where are the official gaming zones in Russia? What is their history and prospects?

A special administrative-territorial object

The game zone in Russia is a special administrative and territorial object, intended for organizing and conducting various gambling games.

Since July 2009, any gambling activities outside such zones in Russia are legally prohibited. The only exception is bookmakers, sweepstakes and lotteries. The law regulates the processes of organization and liquidation of such objects, their name and definition of boundaries.

Gambling zones, in accordance with the law, can be placed only outside the populated areas. The construction of permanent settlements should not be planned on their territory.

Where are the game zones in Russia predetermined to be placed by law?

To organize such territories, the government has identified four sites. Some of them already have existing gaming facilities, while in others the casino zone organization is under consideration and discussion.

Active facilities

• Azov City. One of the first active gambling zones. It is located in the Krasnodar Territory. Initially, the planned location of the zone on the border between the Krasnodar Territory and the neighboring Rostov region. Subsequently, the liquidation of the Rostov part of the zone was undertaken. Today Azov City is the largest of the four gambling zones in the Russian Federation.
• Gambling zone "Siberian coin". Its location is Altai Territory. In the first open complex of the Altai Palace casino, since December 2015, there are several gaming halls, in addition, work is in progress in the hotel and some other parts of the complex. According to official data, in 2015 about 17 thousand people became visitors to the gambling zone.

Development plans are discussed: "Amber"

"Amber" is a game zone in Russia, the development plan for which is under discussion in the government. It is located in the Kaliningrad region. For a long time, despite the active investment of funds in the project, the development of the game zone, according to estimates, was not effective enough. In April 2014, its territory was increased by almost 1 km. The governor of the Kaliningrad region proposed to discuss the concept of the gambling zone. It is believed that "Amber" should develop as a special tourist-recreational zone without accentuation on the gambling business. An example is the popular German resort town of Baden-Baden.

Under consideration

In April 2014, the media reported that, according to the bill introduced by President Vladimir Putin, free game zones in Russia can be created on the Crimean peninsula, which is de facto a part of the Russian Federation. It is reported that the search for a place for their optimal placement is now underway. The southern bank of the Crimea is considered the most likely option.

The question of creating a gaming zone in the Crimea was raised even during the control of the peninsula by Ukraine. In March 2014, after he became a member of Russia, the government again began to consider the issue of creating a special economic zone on the territory of the peninsula. Initially, the initiative was heavily criticized by the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, but was supported by Sergei Aksenov, and. about. Prime Minister of the Crimea.

Suggested Options

• "Golden Sands". A large resort complex in the suburbs of Anapa, which includes a gambling zone. Originally it was proposed as a change of the object "Azov-City", which was estimated as less promising.
• Sochi also planned a game zone. In Russia, as noted by President Vladimir Putin, the city has the image of a family resort, so at first the creation of a gambling zone in it was considered inexpedient. A number of media outlets published a proposal of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev about the construction of a gaming zone in Sochi after the Winter Olympic Games. The information was soon disproved. Later, the Prime Minister and a number of other experts and officials, this idea was criticized. Various publications expressed the idea that the "Sochi Games Zone" project in Russia can not be implemented in the short term. But in 2014, the government returned to the consideration of this issue.
• The gambling zone in Buryatia. The creation of a gambling complex in this territory was proposed by members of the Public Chamber of the Republic. The idea was started to be considered back in 2008, to include Buryatia in the project "game zones of Russia". The casino on its territory was already quite problematic at that time. The idea was protested by various activists, especially actively criticized by members of the Communist Party.
• Primorye. The complex had to be designed and built in the resort area on the bank of the Muravinoy Bay (Cape Turtle, Ussuri Bay). The distance to the airport here is 23 km, to Vladivostok (the capital of the province) - 70 km. The total area of the gambling zone is about 620 hectares. According to the project "Game Zones of Russia", a casino in Primorye was to be located in four establishments, each containing 10 VIP, 20 poker and 45 gaming tables, and 1,000 slot machines. In addition, it is planned to build three hotels with a number of rooms for 600 rooms, which corresponds to the modern standards of popular online casinos. The complex also had to be built shopping and entertainment centers, bars and restaurants, conference and banquet rooms, beauty salons and spas, sports and entertainment and social and business complexes. The project provides for the creation of a racetrack, golf courses and a ski complex. Now the construction of the playground "Primorye" is in the drafting stage.

Azov-City: location

One of the first operating domestic gambling zones, which Russians rightfully call "our Las Vegas". It is located on the coast of the Azov Sea (Taganrog Bay) in the Krasnodar Territory. The nearest major city, located 50 kilometers from the gambling complex, is Yeisk (a resort town). Within a radius of 200 kilometers from the zone are Azov, Krasnodar, Taganrog, Rostov-on-Don.

The gambling zone was initially located on the border between Krasnodar Krai and the neighboring Rostov region, eventually the Rostov part of the complex was liquidated.

"Azov-City" is located between two settlements: the village of Port-Caton and the Molchanovka village. The area of the territory is about 1000 hectares. The complex is equipped with the necessary engineering infrastructure, communications and access roads.

Casino

One of the largest casinos in Russia is located on the territory of "Azov-City" institution "Oracle", the area of which - about 4000 sq.m. Its owner is Rashid Taimasov.

In the Azov-City are also the assets of the company M. Smolentseva: the casino "Shambala" (the area is about 1400 square meters), the hotel and "Nirvana" - the newest domestic casino for 1400 square meters. M.

Casino "Oracle" was built by the company "Royal Time" (Kazan). The first phase of the facility for clients was opened in January 2010. In September 2010, the second stage of the casino "Oracle" was launched. After that the area of the complex was more than 4 thousand square meters. Attention for gamblers is offered here for VIP guests (7 gaming tables), casino hall (5 gaming tables), VIP hall (3 gaming tables). In addition, there are apartments for a game of the tete-a-tete "Incognito". The casino has five tables for tournament poker, a premium hotel (11 rooms), a slot hall with a stage (the total number of slot machines is 300). The company invested about 400 million rubles in the construction of the Oracle.

Casino "Shambala" started working in "Azov-City" in October 2010. Its owner is LLC "Park City". The total area of the complex is about 1,5 thousand square meters. The project was invested about 175 million rubles. There is a gambling establishment "Shambala" in 100 m from the "Oracle". The casino is equipped with 12 gambling tables, 130 units of slot machines, there is a poker room for competitions in sports poker. Also, "Shambhala" has several VIP-halls for private games and a concert venue.

The owner of the third casino - "Nirvana" - CJSC "Shambala". The institution was opened in October 2013. The volume of investments in this project is about 200 million rubles.

According to the new law

In November 2010, the government adopted a law, according to which the Rostov region was excluded from the list of regions permitted for the placement of gambling zones. The law also predetermined that the Rostov part of the southern play area would be moved to a new location: the Blagoveshchensk Spit.

In March 2012, the government approved the alteration of the borders of the Azov-City gambling complex. It was joined by 800 hectares of land near the village of Blagoveshchenskaya (45 km from Anapa).

The right to lease a 240 hectare land for the implementation of a gambling investment project for a period of 20 years was obtained by the company Adaptas (Rus).

Plans

In 2016, it was planned to open the first facility in the resort area of Anapa on the territory of the gambling complex - a five-star hotel with a casino. The cost of this project is estimated at 11 billion rubles. In general, the company planned to build five hotels in a gambling area with a casino and a golf park. The volume of investments in this project is more than 16 billion rubles.

It was planned that the area of "Azov-City" will be about 20.02 million square meters. M (about 2 thousand hectares). Half of the territory (1000 ha) was to be located in the Rostov region, the second half - in the Krasnodar Territory.

In the game zone, there were plans to place numerous halls of slot machines, casino facilities, betting offices, bookmakers, casino halls in the online mode, restaurants, bars, various resort, cultural and sports facilities. It was planned a diverse choice of gambling games, not inferior to the list of Europa Casino. It was planned to create transport junctions and junctions: the airport, bus station, railway stations, as well as the construction of other necessary facilities for infrastructure development.

Rumors about the closure

In 2015, the media reported that one of the two active domestic game zones - "Azov-City" (Krasnodar Territory) - is to be liquidated. The state undertakes to pay investors compensation - about 10 billion rubles.

The liquidation of the zone is necessary in connection with the introduction of amendments to the federal law "On gambling activities" (July 27, 2014). On the one hand, these amendments expanded the list of regions that have the right to place gaming on their territory. Earlier, the list included the Krasnodar Territory, Altai, Primorye and the Kaliningrad Region. Now Crimea was added to them. On the other hand, it was stipulated that in the Kuban the placement of gambling zones is limited solely to sites allocated for the construction of federal Olympic facilities.

What is planned instead of the liquidated object?

As it became known to the media, instead of "Azov-City" (Krasnodar Territory) will be built a new gambling complex - in the area where Sochi Olympic facilities are located.

In Sochi, it is planned to place a gambling zone at the resorts "Gorki-Gorod" (Sberbank's property) and "Rosa Khutor". In December 2014, Sberbank was informed that Krasnaya Polyana was placed at the disposal of the Krasnodar company Omega Center, which is one of the builders of Olympic facilities, in exchange for the construction of an Olympic media center. Having entered the territory's ownership, Krasnaya Polyana is deprived of the right to conduct gambling business, and most likely its areas will be leased out. As expected, "Azov-City" is liquidated in the interests of this tenant, which is not known to anyone yet.

Current state of affairs

As of May-June 2016, all casinos in the gambling zone successfully continue to work. Today in "Azov-City" everyone can choose a game according to his character and temperament. This is an American roulette, recognized by the queen of excitement, and Black Jack, and various types of poker, and numerous slot machines, as well as many intellectual games: chess, backgammon, checkers. In the gambling zone, almost every day, all kinds of shares are held, a lot of valuable prizes, including solid jackpots and chic cars.

The casino regularly hosts show programs, which are attended by pop stars, famous entertainers, striptease shows. The public is offered circus numbers and numerous surprises.

How to get there?

The gambling zone "Azov-City" is located in the Krasnodar Territory on the border of two districts - Yeisk and Shcherbinovsky. The distance from the city of Yeisk to Azov-City is 70 km. Here you can take a free bus, it takes 40-50 minutes. You can also get on your own car or book a transfer.

If you go to "Azov-City" from another city, you should not reach about 30 km to Yeisk, in the village Staroshcherbinovskaya on the ring turn right and then follow the signs.

Daily free buses in Azov-City run on schedule:

• From Yeisk ("Meotida" shopping center): departure time is 19:30;
• From Rostov-on-Don (railway station "Rostov Main"): departure time - 19:00;
• From Krasnodar (TC "Red Square"): departure time on working days - 19:00; On Saturday and Sunday - 18:00.

Where can I stay?

Those who wish can choose to stay a VIP hotel located on the territory of a gambling complex. It is also proposed to book a private house, apartment, hotel room in Yeysk through the agency "Yeisk-Summer.ru".

In perspective

The number of playing publics in Russia and nearby countries is significant today, that's why Azov-City casinos do not lack clients. In this regard, we can assume that the functioning of the game complex will continue for some time.

However, it is known that Azov-City will be closed in the near future. Residents have already made bets on liquidation.

The Ministry of Finance is studying the possibility of simultaneous liquidation of Azov-City and the launch of a new zone in Sochi.