Russian Prime Minister opposes creation of gambling zone in Sochi Mountain Cluster

After the Winter Olympics, the Mountain Cluster of Sochi should be developed as a ski resort; there is no need to place a gambling zone there, said Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

According to his version, this region should attract tourists, above all, by the opportunity to practice winter sports. Earlier, on February 10, the President of Russia Vladimir Putin also spoke against the idea of a gambling zone in Sochi.

"In my opinion, creating another gambling zone in this region is unreasonable, despite the fact that it would facilitate return of funds to investors," the ITAR-TASS reminds Putin's words, uttered in Sochi at a meeting with representatives of the Public Council for Preparation of Winter Olympic Games.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that now Russia has four gambling zones; and one of them is the "Azov-City" situated in the Krasnodar Territory. In April 2011, a part of this gaming zone, located in the Rostov Region, was liquidated, after which it was decided to extend the "Azov-City" into the vicinity of the resort city of Anapa.

At the same time, Bloomberg has reported with reference to two Russian officials that the maintenance of the Sochi Olympic infrastructure in the next three years will cost 7 billion US dollars. The costs are caused by the uncertainty with the post-Olympic fate of the facilities.