RUSSIA

Shambala gets Primorye green light as zone expands

Shambala JSC, the former operator of the Shambala Casino in the now-closed Azov City gambling zone, has received permission to conduct gambling activities in the Primorye zone.

According to Russian gambling publication Bookmakers’ Rating, the permit was signed on 6 September, allowing Shambala to start carrying out gambling activities from 1 December 2019.

The Shambala casino was opened in Azov City in western Russia in October 2010. Three years later the company opened another casino, Nirvana. Both of them were closed in 2018 following a decision to open a rival gambling zone in Sochi.

Shambala attempted to contest the ruling, demanding RUB3.3 billion ($51 million) from the Russian government, but it was dismissed.

In 2017, Shambala presented a project for a gambling facility in Primorye, developed by international architectural firm AEDAS, which is behind such gambling venues as The Venetian casino in Macau.

The entertainment complex is expected to include a casino and a 5-star hotel with no less than 250 rooms. The construction is expected to be carried out in two stages, the first of which involves building a casino within the two-year period. The second stage will involve the hotel and entertainment facilities. The overall investment is put at RUB 10 billion.

Earlier this year, the head of the Primorye Territory tourism department said that the facility is expected to be in operation in the beginning of 2020.

In a separate development, the authorities of Altai Territory have supported the construction of an entertainment complex with a casino in the Siberian Coin gambling zone. Investments in the project will amount to RUB 3.5 billion, with construction expected to start in 2020.

Project investors Aleksey Sakvarelidze and Anton Bykov said that at the first stage, a slot hall for 300 slot machines and 10 gaming tables will be built.

In 2021-2023, the construction of a 150-room hotel will begin under the franchise of one of the international brands. The implementation of this phase will take two years.

At the third phase, a casino with an area of 5,000 sq m will be built, as well as recreation areas.

Aleksey Sakvarelidze owns 30 percent in Alti LLC. His company is developing a hotel and entertainment complex, including the Altai Palace casino, which opened in 2014 and is the only casino operating in the Siberian Coin zone.

Meanwhile, Summit Ascent’s Tigre de Cristal now expects the second phase of its development in the Primorye zone to open in early 2022 following changes in its design.

The first stage of Phase II is expected to 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.

The entertainment complex is expected to include a casino and a 5-star hotel with no less than 250 rooms.

Changes to the design followed input from its new majority shareholder, Suncity Group.

Tigre de Cristal, which opened in 2015, was the first integrated resort to open in the Russian Far East.

Ramp up was slow at first due to competition from illegal gambling and poor transport links, though Summit Ascent’s results have seen an improvement and it says it expects to begin to benefit from a cluster effect as new casinos open from 2021.

For the six months to end June, adjusted property EBITDA jumped 62 percent to $66.8 million.

Profit attributable to owners of the company jumped to $42.8 million from $2.6 million, while group revenue was up 24 percent to $257.3 million.

The company said the slot business was the outperformer, up 37 percent to $90.6 million.

The rolling chip business also saw significant improvement with revenue increasing by 69 percent to HK$68.8 million.

Stars Group bets on Russia

Stars Group has set it sights on Russia, saying it intends to obtain a bookmarking licence and will promote its PokerStars brand on a local cable channel.

Canada-based Stars Group will “soon” launch its promotion campaign on the Russian television channel UFC, Russian business daily RBC quoted Stars Group CEO Rafi Ashkenazi as saying on a recent conference call.

Ashkenazi also added that the company plans to file a request with the Russian Federal Tax Service for a bookmaker license for the PokerStars Sports brand.

In March 2014, Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor blocked the site PokerStars. com and currently only its Russian-language “mirror” is available to users, which notifies punters that online poker services are provided to them by the Rational Poker School Ltd., registered on the Isle of Man.

Primorye zone to get new power plant

The Primorsky Krai Development Corporation has signed an agreement for a joint venture with a Russian subsidiary of China’s stateowned energy company Sinomec as part of the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok.

The first project of the new company will be a 100 MW gas power plant for the Primorye gambling zone with an investment of about 10 billion rubles ($152.6 million).

The agreement stipulates the registration of a Russian-Chinese company named Far Eastern Energy Company LLC, which will develop energy projects in Primorsky Krai.

According to Primorsky Krai Development Corporation executive director Igor Trofimov, “China is our partner, and the decision to develop cooperation is fixed at the government level, so we decided to create a joint company, which will serve as the basis for further work.”