OREANDA-NEWS. September 16, 2008. Gambling tax revenues in Rostov region will reduce one third in 2009, in the second half of which the gambling ban will come into effect, and the gaming zone set up on the border with Krasnodar region will not have started operating yet. These are the data contained in the project of the regional budget for 2009 and the planning period of 2010 and 2011.

“The estimation of the tax potential on gambling tax revenues of the local budget for the year 2009 has been calculated in the amount of 422.6 million rubles, which is 66% of the 2008 budget figures,” the document is quoted.

At the same time, in the plans for 2010 and 2011 the regional Ministry of Finance announces the amount of 895.2 million rubles, which is twice higher than the one of 2009.

Rostov region`s Ministry of Economics, which deals with setting up “Azov City” gaming zone, treats forecasts rather cautiously. “We realize that gambling facilities in “Azov City” gaming zone will hardly start operating as of July 1st, 2009; therefore, we are planning to get gambling tax revenues in the first half of 2009, and in the second half the figure is zero because there will be nowhere to collect the taxes from. Not until the second half of the 2009 will there be a vision whether they will manage to launch gambling facilities in 2010 or not,” noted the Ministry spokesman.