Sochi’s victory in the race to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games will add significant momentum to the Russian Federal Government's plans for a casino zone in Krasnodar.

With just eighteen months to go before the Russian gaming landscape is redrawn according to President Vladimir Putin’s draconian 2006 federal law, business is booming for Russia’s operators. However, would-be investors are delaying their decisions while faced with growing political uncertainty in the four new casino zones that are planned to host the industry’s next stage.

Estimates suggest the infrastructure costs of creating Russia’s controversial new gambling zones could dwarf the expenditure already earmarked for the Sochi Olympics in 2014. But while politicians urge that the developments push ahead, there is a marked lack of enthusiasm from private sector investors who fear the locations are too remote.

Russian authorities are increasing the scope of the gambling prohibition to counter the surrogate gambling activities that have thrived in the post-ban landscape. The viability of the four remote gaming zones remains questionable even after the opening of the first casino in January.

Observers of Russia’s gambling industry have expressed some hope that the Government will come to revise legislation imposing an outright ban on casinos and slot machines in all major Russian cities by mid-2009. However, any prospective change will likely depend on the attitude adopted by the new man set to take up residence in the Kremlin after next Sunday’s elections.

The opening of Russia’s first new casino, in the southern casino zone of Azov City, has been marred by the death of one of the region’s most senior politicians who perished in a car crash while returning from the event.

With less than twelve months remaining before the $4.5bn Russian gambling market faces closure or relocation to four remote gambling zones, market players are weighing their diminishing options, according to a new report by Gambling Compliance's research department.

President Dmitry Medvedev has told senior officials that his government will not contemplate postponing its mandated plans to remove all casinos and slot machine parlours from major Russian cities by July 1, 2009.

An outline plan for one of Russia’s four proposed casino zones has been unveiled by Vladivostok politicians, eager to attract investment from China, Japan, and Korea.

Poker has been recognized as an official sport in Russia, raising the possibility that the fast growing game could be exempted from the draconian restrictions on casino gambling imposed by President Putin last year.