End of an era for Russia’s glitzy casinos

MOSCOW – Alexander, a pit boss at the Arbat casino in Moscow, watched his roulette wheels spin for one of the last times before the establishment closes under a new law that spells the end of an era in Russia.

All Russia’s casinos must shut down today, July 1 except in four remote regions, putting an end to the days when businessmen and gangsters who acquired wealth in the chaotic 1990s gambled it away in lavish casinos in central Moscow.Those establishments must now close or refashion themselves to comply with the law, which was signed in 2006 by then-president Vladimir Putin in a bid to contain gambling addiction and rein in the much-criticised gaming industry.The law says that from July 1, casinos may only operate in Russia’s western Kaliningrad exclave; along the Azov Sea in the south; in the Altai region of Siberia; and in the far eastern Primorye region, near North Korea and Japan.The four designated gambling zones are all at least 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from Moscow and have undeveloped infrastructure, making it improbable that they can be turned into Russian versions of Las Vegas anytime soon.Meanwhile tens of thousands of people working in the gaming industry are expected to lose their jobs, especially in Moscow, which has 524 casinos and gaming halls, and Saint Petersburg, which has 109.’I will have to go to an employment agency for a job,’ said Alexander, who oversees 10 roulette wheels at Arbat casino, where he has worked for 17 years.’As for me, I’m going to relax by the sea,’ joked Alexei, a young croupier at the same casino.But others praise the law, hoping it will help contain gambling addiction, which spread rapidly in Russia after the 1991 collapse of Soviet communism as slot-machine halls seemingly popped up everywhere overnight.’It is not unfortunate for me, because I am a prisoner of this system,’ said a French expatriate in Moscow who has been gambling at casinos in the Russian capital regularly since 2003.’I had to take out loans of up to 3 500 euros (US$4 900 dollars) to pay back my debts,’ said the Frenchman, a self-described gambling addict who asked to remain anonymous.Putin, who backed the casino law as part of a broader drive to rein in the excesses of the 1990s, cited gambling addiction as a key reason for tighter controls over the gaming industry.’Specialists say that gambling addiction, the addiction to games of chance, is even stronger than addiction to alcohol,’ Putin said in 2006 around two months before signing the law.’This is a serious problem, similar to the alcoholisation of the country. Undoubtedly, the government should have paid attention to this sphere of activity and this business. I believe this is a civilised decision.’Since then Putin has left the Kremlin and become prime minister, but allies of the gaming industry have been unsuccessful in persuading his successor, President Dmitry Medvedev, to change the law.There is some uncertainty about what exactly will happen to Moscow’s casinos when the law takes effect today.Some are expected to become poker clubs, because under a quirk of Russian law poker is considered a sport rather than a game of chance.But such casinos-turned-poker-clubs cannot allow games to be played for money or else ‘they will fall under the hand of the law,’ said a spokesman for the Moscow police, Filipp Zolotnitsky.One other thing is certain – once casinos are banned, there will be a surge of illegal gambling as the practice goes underground.’We expect the appearance of illegal establishments… little establishments like in the Soviet era, in apartments, in country cottages,’ Zolotnitsky said. -Nampa-AFP