Rules mean big changes for the Russian gambling industry
Posted by Gavin Smith on 30 Apr 2009 at 13:04
Russia's gambling market is undergoing a big shake up, with implications for all casinos and card game players.
This summer all of Russia's gaming market will move into four designated zones, although only three of them have been approved at present, amid reports it is unclear whether the system will be operating properly by July 1.
The Daily Telegraph took a close look at the issue, noting that 90 per cent of Moscow's 549 gambling venues, which includes 30 to casinos, are to become entertainment centres, restaurants and concert halls, according to local officials.
Others are set to become poker clubs and more than 60 per cent of the city's casinos are to hold competitive poker tournaments after July.
The Telegraph reports Russia has now classified poker as a sport as opposed to a form of gambling, following a high-profile move in 2007.
This meant that Texas Hold 'Em, Omaha, and Seven Card Stud poker are all now on the all-Russia Registry of Sports.
Quoted by the paper, an official for the Gaming Business Association (GBA) said: "This game doesn’t have any connection to the gambling business, since in sports poker the players are competing against one another, not the casino."
They also pointed out that poker has been declassified as a game of chance in places like Austria and Denmark.
The Telegraph also published remarks by Lavrenty Gubin, a spokesman for Storm International, suggesting it will turn its Jazz Town and Shangri-La casinos into poker-based venues and would make cash by renting tables to the players.
Other casino companies are talking to poker player groups and are looking at other avenues, including hosting tournaments as an alternative venue usage after the changes are enforced.
According to the Telegraph, Korston president Anatoly Kuznetsov said: "In the Korston complex, such tournaments are already being held. So far, we have six tables, and in the near future we’ll increase the number to 22."
Elsewhere the new rules could mean a higher profile for other forms of card game.
The report adds that Preference, based on Whist and involving a deck of 32 cards, could appear in tournaments if personnel, security and other measures can be organised.
Gambling operators have been talking to the Federation of Competitive Preference, the Telegraph adds.
