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Russia Closes Casinos - 07-01-09 |
July 1 - Vladimir Putin, the iron-fisted Prime Minister of Russia, carried out what he promised to do several years ago and put an end to uncontrolled casino gambling in the country.
The government ordered that all casinos and gambling halls be closed by Wednesday midnight, in bid to 'clean up the country' and rein in organized crime.
Putin confined gambling to four remote areas in the country, most of them so far from Moscow that average gamblers in the city have very little chance of ever reaching their favorite casinos in their own lifetimes.
While the government believes that its moves will benefit the country in the long run, not everyone is sure about that. Expert say that the federal budget will be deprived of literally billions of dollars each year - money that was generated by taxation of the industry.
In addition, over 400,000 people have lost their jobs as a result of the casinos' closure - and unemployment on such a massive scale is never a good thing for the economy.
The founder of Storm International, a British based gaming group that operates casinos in Moscow, Michael Boettcher said: "They've killed the industry overnight. It's like closing all the five star restaurants in London because you're eating too much and saying that if you do want to have them, you'll have to relocate to North Wales. Who's going to go? Nobody!"
Not everybody was convinced that Putin would go along with his grand plans when he first announced them in 2006, believing that even the most conservative governments could not destroy an industry that generates $3.6 billion a year.
However, it seems that Putin was determined to get this one right and the "for rent" signs along Moscow's trendiest tourist routes are a testament to this decision.
Ironically, online gambling sites are expected to flourish because of this decision as players flock to take their favorite pastime to the internet.
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