Reported $150M investment
The Crimean gaming zone has been approved to open in September 2019, according to Prime Minister and head of the Russian region Sergey Aksenov.
“There is a large operator ready to invest in the project,” Aksenov told TASS. “There are subtleties, mostly linked to the Western sanctions, so there is a need to remain anonymous about who will do it.” The mystery operator is reportedly prepared to invest 8 billion rubles (US$150 million) in the project, he added.
Casinos have been prohibited in most of Russia since 2009 but are allowed in four gaming zones. Crimea will become the fifth zone, reports the Russia Business Times.
“We are sure that the gambling zone will become a kind of attraction point that will allow to build advanced infrastructure around it,” Crimean Economy Minister Andrey Melnikov said in October. “Obviously, the key revenues will be not from casino itself, but from hotels, restaurants, shops, which will be built around this core.”
The zone was first announced in 2014 after the region’s reunification with Russia. The republic will reap an estimated $500 million per year from the operation.
Recently, Asia Gaming Brief reported that Aksenov established a committee to find a new location for the zone. The group includes 14 local officials including Vice Premier Vitaly Nakhlupin.
Tourism chief Alexei Chernyak told Pravda the authorities are looking for a bigger lot. “The area we already selected is too small, we hope it will be bigger. It is not yet known if it will be situated in the south of Crimea or in any other region,” Chernyak said.
