Russia considers gambling curbs

MOSCOW --Russia's lower house of parliament on Friday backed sweeping gambling legislation force casinos across the country to relocate into four designated zones.

The State Duma voted 425-0 on a key second reading to pass the Kremlin-backed legislation, which would set up the four special regions by July 1, 2009.

All gambling and slot machine businesses -- including those in Moscow where casinos and slot halls appear to be virtually on every street corner -- would have to close and move to the Primorsky, Altai, Rostov/Krasnodar or Kaliningrad regions.

Primorsky is a Pacific region, wedged between the Sea of Japan and China; while Kaliningrad is located on the Baltic Sea and cut off from Russia proper by Lithuania and Belarus. The Rostov/Krasnodar regions are located along the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, while Altai is a mountainous region along the borders with Kazakhstan and Mongolia.

New rules would also go into effect on Jan. 1, 2007, setting up minimum age limits for casino-goers, a minimum number of gambling tables and slot machines for establishments to operate and other restrictions.

Lawmakers in the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, which dominates the Duma, have long pushed for gaming halls to be located outside city limits, blaming a surge in cases of gambling addiction on companies that control the multibillion-dollar industry.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, gambling in Russia has exploded, with slot machines alone raking in an estimated $3.6 billion last year.