Russia Lower House approves gambling zones

The Russian Lower House of Parliament, the Duma, voted to approve new gambling laws for Russia that will limit gambling in the nation to four designated zones. The bill was submitted earlier this year by President Vladimir Putin himself as a way to curb the spread of gambling.

The bill will force casinos, which have been a $6 billion industry for Russia, to move from their current locations to the new gambling zones or shut down.

The four gambling zones allotted by the Duma are in the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, the Primorsky region on the Pacific coast, the Siberian region of Altai and the border of Krasnodar and Rostov in southern Russia.

The next step for the bill is for it to go to the Upper House to be approved. After that, all it needs is President Putin's signature to make it law.

Large casinos will have until July 2009 to comply with the new law if and when it is enacted. Smaller casinos and card rooms will only have until July 2007, when the first zone is expected to be created, to comply or shut down.

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