RUSSIA

There will be at least 11 casino hotels built in the Primorye Gambling Zone in Russia’s Far East by 2023, acting regional vice governor Konstantin Shestakov said during a recent visit to the zone. The total amount of investments under the existing agreements is RUB 78.5 billion ($1.2 billion). The project participants are seven companies from Hong Kong, China, the Kingdom of Cambodia, Russia and South Korea.

By the end of next year, at least three of these will be operating, he said.

“We have entered the final stage of constructing two new entertainment complexes with casinos in the gambling zone. An investor from Cambodia is completing an 11-story hotel with a casino and a concert hall, while a Russian investor, Shambhala CJSC, will launch its casino tentatively in March 2020. Workers are already finishing the building,” he said.

The project developer, Primorsky Krai Development Corporation JSC, controls the work of a contractor responsible for the construction of transport and engineering infrastructure, and also works with investors.

Its executive director said that “There has not been such [a level of] activity at the construction site for a long time, the territory is getting a new look. Contractors work simultaneously with investors. Highway construction is underway – we will put asphalt when it gets warmer, just in time for the completion of investor facilities. Sewer systems and drainage systems are also being built, electric networks are being laid,” he added.

According to him, the corporation is increasingly receiving requests from foreign and Russian companies regarding the construction of casinos in the IRC “Primorye”.

“Two sites are currently free for the construction of a hotel complex with a casino, and there are companies that [are showing] interest. We are also negotiating the creation of entertainment facilities. An application has already been submitted for the construction of a golf course, we are establishing contacts with operators of large projects from the global entertainment industry,” he said.

The first gambling facility to be opened in the gambling zone was the Tigre de Cristal, which was launched in 2015. Every year, it brings to the state coffers almost half a billion rubles, more than half of which goes to the budget of Primorye.

The resort, which is operated by a unit of Hong Kong-listed Summit Ascent, is currently planning the second stage of development, as well as refining its offering to appeal to VIP players.

The company has pushed back the opening of Phase II until early 2022 due to design changes from Suncity Group, which bought a stake from Taiwan’s First Steamship Co. in April 2019 becoming the largest single shareholder.

The first stage of Phase II is expected to have more than double the existing capacity in guest rooms and gaming facilities. It will also include four restaurants and bars, an indoor beach club, a duty-free shopping mall, and multipurpose MICE facilities.

Since the opening, Tigre de Cristal has been visited by 1.5 million people. Summit Ascent says it expects to feel the benefit of the cluster effect from the opening of new properties by 2021, or 2022.

After Shambala’s opening, Cambodian operator Nagacorp is expected to be the next in line. Its project has been delayed, although is now expected towards the end of this year.

The group has committed to invest $350 million in the resort.

The Primorsky Krai region, which is seen as the most promising of Russia’s gaming zones, was recently included as part of Russia’s Tax Free pilot program, which provides a system of preferential VAT returns. The pilot will run until the end of this year.

“The number of foreign tourists with us continues to grow, this is good for the country. To strengthen the effect on the economy as a whole, we must develop infrastructure and improve the quality of services,” Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on announcing the inclusion.

The Investment Council of the Russia-controlled republic of Crimea has supported the construction project of a gambling zone on its southern coast, with a total investment of more than RUB 3 billion (US$48.4 million).

The project will be implemented by a leading investment company in Crimea. The company’s director Denis Kozorez said that the project will create more than 250 additional jobs with planned tax deductions of over RUB 1 billion to budgets of various levels over the next 10 years.

The gambling zone will include a casino, a hotel complex with apartments, restaurants, cafes, a summer theater, a cinema and concert hall, a conference hall, open areas, a network of internal automobile, bicycle and pedestrian recreational areas, places for sports, outdoor and indoor pools, a parking and transportation service area.

The construction of the project is expected to start in 2020 and be completed in 2023.

The southern Russian city of Sochi has opened up a direct flight route with the Chinese city of Shenzhen.

According to Russian media, the launch of the new route was initiated by the Sochi gambling zone Krasnaya Polyana, but it is understood that the costs for operating the flights will be covered by travel company Bcts Travel Service Shenzhen co.

For the first trial month, there will be just one flight per week, but from March, if the destination proves popular with Chinese tourists, the number of weekly flights may be extended to four. Previously, visitors from China had to fly there via Moscow or other cities.

Sochi has two casinos, including the Sochi Casino and Resort, operated by LLC Domain, and the Boomerang Casino which opened in January 2019.