14.09.06

Recently the Supreme Court examined the question of banning gambling institutions in Moscow. The Supreme Court recognized gambling companies' right to perform business in the city and struck down Clauses 4 and 5 of Part 2, Article 3 of Law #58, in which the Moscow Duma had prohibited gambling establishments from open marketplaces, shops, train stations, the metro, and pedestrian paths both under and above ground. However, the deputies of the Moscow Duma have not given in, and have passed a new amendment to the law regulating the activities and conduct of gambling organizations, which would ban gambling establishments from uninhabited quarters in apartment buildings.

One of the standards of the federal law “Regarding State Regulation of the Activities and Conduct of Gambling Organizations,” which was accepted in the first reading of spring this year, prohibits gambling establishments in residential areas. However, the Moscow City Council proposed to supplement the bill with the words “and in various kinds of non-residential premises located in apartment buildings.” Originally the amendment was supposed to bring to Moscow law #58 a “proper order to the accommodation of gambling establishments in the Moscow region.” But in fact, this infringes on federal legislation, and Moscow legislators cannot enforce these demands on the owners of the gambling companies. Thus, the Moscow City Council resolved to pursue the initiative through federal instead of local law in order to avoid contradiction with a higher authority.

Many owners of gambling establishments believe this amendment will only make more problems for legally operating businesses. They argue that it cannot successfully resolve the social problems connected with the gambling because permitting a gambling business to be alongside a residential building is legally no different than allowing it inside an uninhabited premise of an apartment building.