Crimea - A New Home for Russian Poker?

Last week 100 UN member states voted against the annexation of Crimea by Russia and declared illegal the preceding referendum. Meanwhile the Russian government is working hard on plans to ensure sustainability of the Crimean economy and apparently one possible approach is to make it a special gambling zone.

Some experts expect the annexation to cost at least as much as the Sochi Winter Olympics (the most expensive Olympic games ever and a veritable feat since the location is basically a seaside resort). Right now Russia’s ministries of economy, finance and regional development reportedly have an April 15 deadline to estimate potential revenues and the cost of setting up a gambling zone in Crimea (a project which is by no means new and has long been under development in Ukraine). 

Photos from the only operational gambling zone in Russia - Azov City resort, long way from Vegas :)

Russia banned gambling in 2009, except for four designated 'gambling zones' - Krasnodar, near Crimea in the southwest; the Kaliningrad exclave between Poland and Lithuania; Altai, on the border with Kazakhstan, and in Vladivostok on the Pacific coast. However, only one of the four gambling zones is currently operational - Azov City resort in the Krasnodar region. In the other three construction is still under way.

The @Russian Poker Tour has been homeless since 2009 and has been seeking venues in neighboring countries for its events (most recently RPT teamed up with the Lebanese Poker Tour in Montenegro). In February of the current year RankingHero reported on the suspended RPT in Kiev. As violence in the Ukraine capital exploded on the 18th of February, about 150 players were locked inside the Kreschatyk Club and remained there for 15 hours before they could be safely evacuated.

With the explosion of violence, the 150 players who had come to the Kreschatyk Club for RPT Day 2 were locked inside the premises and noone was allowed to leave or enter. 

Another blow against Russian poker came on March 21 when Russia’s Internet Service Providers blocked access to a large number of online gambling sites including PokerStars, partypoker, Unibet and Titan Poker. It is as yet unclear whether this will be part of a campaign to completely #banonlinegambling. PokerStars responded to concerns voiced on a twoplustwo thread with the following statement:

We are aware of the recent situation in Russia. At this time we do not believe this changes our ability to offer services to Russian players. As such our operations continue as usual….Our terms and conditions make it clear that our services are not for use in jurisdictions where it is illegal to do so, but the measures taken by Roskomnadzor, and the resulting action with the Common Registry of Banned Websites that prevents access to our PokerStars.COM website, does not affect [the] ability to continue playing at PokerStars.