Crimea to open new gambling zone

A new gambling zone in Crimea has been given the go ahead this week.

The investment Council of the Russia-controlled republic of Crimea has supported the construction project in an area dubbed “the gold coast” with a total investment of more than RUB 3 billion (US 48.4 million

The project was given the go ahead in December at a meeting of Crimea’s Investment Council with a unanimous vote. The scheme will be implemented by a leading investment company headed by Denis Kozorez. He said the project is expected to create more than 250 additional jobs with planned taxes amounting to more than RUB 1 billion over the next 10 years.

The gambling zone located Yalta Municipality will include a casino, a hotel complex with apartments, restaurants, cafes, a summer theatre, a cinema and concert hall, a conference hall, open areas, a network of internal transport, bicycle and pedestrian recreational areas, places for sports, outdoor and indoor pools and a parking and transportation service area.

Russian President, Vladimir Putin endorsed the law in December 2019 which gave the go head for a gambling zone in Crimea.

Head of the Republic, Sergey Aksyonov, welcomed investments in the area which offers full confidentiality to avoid international sanctions. Motivation behind this is to help make the peninsula less dependent on state funds, according to government officials.

The republic of Crimea is a Russian controlled are in Ukraine where gambling was outlawed in 2009 following a fire in a gambling hall in Dnipropetrovsk that killed nine people. The prohibition also covers internet casinos.

Crimea is within a gaming zone created by the new legislation in 2010 which required all gambling activities, with the exception of state cash lotteries, to move to these zones.

The Ukrainian government created the gaming zones to limit vulnerable people from gambling and profit from the tourism revenue created by the industry.

However, Ukraine is currently in the process of passing legislation to legalise gambling across the country.

The status of Crimea remains disputed following its annexation by Russia in 2014. The international community largely continues to recognise Ukraine’s jurisdiction over the region, although 17 UN member states besides Russia consider Crimea to be Russian territory.