In the third and final part of this report, Lyubov Loginova, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Alsart Group, concludes her insight on the current situation and perspectives of the gambling zones in Russia, in Primorye and Altai regions, Kaliningrad region and the border of the Krasnodar territory and Rostov region. All casinos in Russia were closed by the Government in 2009.

Kaliningrad Zone: Yantarnaya
There have been twelve attempts to organize the auction of the first lots of land for the future gambling zone called Yantarnaya, and every one of them has failed due to a lack of applicants. Now the government of the Kaliningrad region is betting on a single conceptual project for a gambling zone and has abandoned the retail sale of lots for building the casinos in this region.

As an open competition to develop a unified and integrated concept for the gaming zone, Yantarnaya gets ready for an announcement. At present there are some lots being offered on lease terms. Loginova comments: “In my opinion, this is a losing project. Russian players have much more attractive places, and already operating, in Europe. With the opening of gambling businesses in Ukraine, the chance of the Yantarnaya zone to attract gamblers goes to zero; added to the facts that casino business is unlikely as there are no interested investors and the local communities are opposed to casinos operating in their neighborhood”.

Primorye Zone
The opening of the Far-Eastern gambling zone "Primorye" is still very far away, but work on its creation goes on. There is a provision in the Primorsky region budget for 2010 of 12 million rubles (US $380,000) for documentation expenses for the planning of the territory for gambling under this zone.

Governor of the region Sergey Darkin, declared: "We are not going to invest the local or federal money in the gambling zone – the project will be implemented at the expense of investors. Gambling operators from Primorye will also take part in its construction ".

Earlier, the governor has said that the experience of such projects in Primorye, as well as favorable climatic conditions and reasonably developed infrastructure in close proximity to countries in the Asia-Pacific region will contribute to the success of the project. The gambling zone in Primorye is set to cover a huge area including China, Japan, South and North Korea. Governor Darkin added: "In all these countries gambling is prohibited, and Primorye is the nearest point where casinos are allowed and it is an average of 1.5 hours of flight. In this regard, Primorskaya zone has a high potential for the investors. "

But the situation has its own complications and poses several problems for the region, particularly by a lack of transport facilities, communications, and low tourist attraction. However, according to Governor Darkin, the gambling zone will be built in the next two years, assuring us that:"We already have a detailed business plan, which we created two years ago". According to the governor, the master plan for the development of the gambling zone will be ready by the end of the year.

Lyubov Loginova, said: “Primorye is the second gambling zone important for us. This region is actively developing. With the support of the Government of the Russian Federation there is under construction a project to house the Far Eastern Federal University, where the 2012 APEC summit will be held. Also, a large air transit hub will be created in Vladivostok for the APEC summit, and the Eastern residence of the country’s leaders, Prime Minister Medvedev and president Putin is planned to be built in the Primorsky region in 2011.

“In addition, Primorye is visa-free territory for citizens of China, where gambling is prohibited, with its gambling crazy people. Also, there are many players in Japan, Korea and other Southeast Asian countries. All this makes the prospects of a gambling zone in the Primorye very promising". (E-05.25.10)

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