The Russian news agency RAPSI reports that Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed a decree authorising land gambling in Crimea, a territory annexed from Ukraine by Russian political and activist interventions earlier this year.
The decree covers specific areas within Crimea and Kuban, which now join four other regions in Russia as the sole locations where gambling is permitted (see previous reports).
Currently, there is one gambling resort, on the border of Krasnodar Territory and the Rostov region. Three more developments are being built, one each in the Kaliningrad Region, the Altai and the Primorye territories.
Prior to becoming part of Russia this year, gambling was illegal in Crimea.
Regional officials will now decide on development limits and locations of establishments amidst speculation that investors may be prepared to finance a Las Vegas style development in the resort area on the subtropical southern shore near Yalta and Alushta.