First Casino in Russian Primorye Region to Open its Doors in 2015

Quite possibly only the Russian casino firms will be the ones operating resorts in the newly opened gambling zones in Eastern Russia.

Russian gambling news analysts failed to obtain any answer from other big-scale casino operators such as Galaxy Entertainment Group and Las Vegas Sands Corp, Melco Crown Entertainment and Wynn Resorts. Caesars stated that they have no plan to enter the Russian casino market in the Eastern regions.

A Russian gambling law passed in 2007 and put in effect in 2009 allowed the establishment of four remote zones where casino gaming was legal.

Primorsky Krai, also known as Primorye is one such region where Russian casino gambling is legalized. The maritime region in the far eastern part of Russia next to the Chinese and North Korean border has about two million inhabitants, 600,000 of them live in the capital, Vladivostok.

The region has plans with gambling and the related tourism, although local politicians state that gaming is not their prime focus. Vladimir Miklushevsky, the region’s governor informed: “The gambling zone itself is not the most important thing, but it is like an anchor.”

Miklushevsky added: “In the modern tourism business, income from the gambling zone itself makes from 30 to 40 percent of all tourism revenues. The rest comes from other sources, such as amusement parks and shopping centers.”

Casino resort building has already begun in the area. Currently, one casino and hotel is being constructed, with rumors about several other projects in plan. The Primorye region hopes to host up to 17 gambling venues, with the first one opening its doors in 2015.