In January this year it emerged that just over 20 million square metres in the Scherbinovsky district of Krasnodar and the Azov district of Rostov would be set up as a Russian gambling zone to be known as Azov-City. Some 18 billion roubles (US$761.3 million) of the federal budget will be used to develop tourist and recreation facilities in the South Federal District between 2008 and 2012. A feasibility study has estimated that of the four designated gambling zones Azov-City will need the most investment.

Later this month Russia plans to auction the first 20 plots of land for investors to construct Azov-City casinos and hotels. The four gambling zones are expected to need a total investment of 727.5 billion roubles (US$ 30.7 billion), of which the Krasnodar region will account for 415.9 billion roubles (US$17.6 billion). The cost of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, also in the Krasnodar region, has been put at 314 billion roubles (US$13.2 billion). Local authorities have already demonstrated architectural models and computer simulations in a bid to bring in investment for casino based entertainment complexes.

The accuracy of figures provided by the feasibility study has been widely questioned, as has the willingness of investors to gamble on the success of Russia’s gambling zones. Future visitor numbers have been estimated at around nine and a half million annually and Azov-City is expected to attract 6.7 million and yield US$11.2 billion of a total US$17.5 billion turnover. This would appear to be an optimistic assessment as previously Russian gambling activity was about US$6 billion. (E-06.03.08)

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