The gambling zone in Crimea is a feeding ground for officials and a threat to the forests of the South Coast
Simferopol, April 22 (Navigator, Astra Yazyka) – The inclusion of the Republic of Crimea among the legal gambling zones on the territory of the Russian Federation does not mean turning the peninsula into Las Vegas. The opening of gambling establishments in populated areas is prohibited, and casinos outside the boundaries of cities and villages are possible only if the owner has net assets of at least 600 million rubles, which is almost $17 million.
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The day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted to the State Duma a draft law on the creation of a fifth gambling zone in Russia - in the Republic of Crimea. The boundaries of the gambling zone are entrusted to be determined by the executive authorities of the Republic of Crimea, that is, the Council of Ministers headed by the acting the head of the entire republic Sergei Aksenov.
Previously, he promised that by May 1, a project with a territorial reference to the gambling zone would appear.
“There will be no casinos or gaming areas throughout Crimea. Everything will be concentrated in one place,” the prime minister assured.
The Law “On state regulation of activities related to the organization and conduct of gambling and on amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation” was adopted at the end of 2006. But it actually came into force on July 1, 2009, when the state defined four special zones - in the Altai, Primorsky Territories, Kaliningrad Region and on the border of the Krasnodar Territory and the Rostov Region, where you can legally spend and earn money on gambling. The exception was bookmakers and sweepstakes that received licenses from the Federal Tax Service of Russia.
In five years, only one gaming zone has actually started operating - Azov City, which is not popular because it is located on the outskirts in a desert area. The law directly states that gambling zones cannot be created on settlement lands. As for territories outside the boundaries of populated areas, sites for casino construction cannot be leased or owned by individuals or legal entities. In fact, these should be vacant lots where only communications facilities can legally pass through.
“Land for a gambling zone is allocated by the municipality with the appropriate type of permitted use and an exorbitant cadastral value, from which the rent is calculated,” one of the Russian law firms explained to Navigator.
But lawyers consider the most difficult requirement of the law to be the obligation of the gambling organizer to keep at least 600 million rubles in net assets during the entire period of activity. And the duration of the gambling zone is not limited, unless, of course, its organizer submits all reports on time and does not violate the requirements of the law.
“There are few people who decide to bet 600 million rubles, which, if something happens, will be subject to sanctions,” the agency’s interlocutor noted. “Moreover, the calculation of the value of net assets is not made by the investor himself, but by the body that controls this activity.”
It is still necessary to create such a body at the republican level, if the law is adopted. Moreover, its functions will include both issuing permits and monitoring activities. The combination of two opposing functions in one structure, which will be accountable to the Council of Ministers, inevitably suggests a corruption component in the gambling business. But even if we discard this factor, the very “one place” where, according to the acting deputy, remains unclear. the head of the republic will have a gambling zone. It is utopian to assume that respectable gentlemen will be invited to blackjack and poker in the endless steppes of the Dzhankoy and Leninsky districts. The coastal zone of Western Crimea, where a couple of years ago they threatened to build New Antalya, was rejected by a railway line running along the coast, which is more expensive to displace than to build a floating complex on the open sea. In addition, the only private airfield, Tabasco, near Yevpatoria, cannot meet the demand for charters.
There are suitable lands within the administrative boundaries of Sevastopol, given the proximity of Belbek airport. However, the leadership of the city of “Russian glory” has already disowned any connection to the entertainment zone. Sevastopol claims to be the development of high-precision industry and the intellectual center of Crimea, and not some kind of “roulette city”.
That leaves the South Coast, where the gambling business would receive a decent clientele and surroundings. However, the free land on the South Coast ran out even in the previous convocation, for which reason the administration of President Yanukovych was preparing a project to withdraw 750 hectares of land from the Yalta Mountain Forest Nature Reserve. 50 hectares were allocated for already laid pipelines and communications, 75 hectares were intended for Yalta to expand the city boundaries, Alupka and Massandra received another hundred hectares each, along with already built facilities. The largest plot of 400 hectares went to Koreiz, along with relict pine trees, which provide the most healing air of the southern coast. Local residents have already staged a picket demanding that the forest be left alone and construction on the slopes be prohibited. But how the current government deals with protest sentiments can be seen in the conflict around the Bakhchisaray historical and cultural reserve: the main thing is that we are in Russia. And the rest is under complete control.
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