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Investments in Russian gambling industry surge 1.5-fold in 2022 — expert

Several gambling clusters currently exist in Russia, in particular, in Krasnodar, Primorsky, Altai and Kaliningrad Regions, and in Crimea

MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. Investments in Russian gambling zones surged by 1.5 times in 2022, despite sanctions and the withdrawal of certain foreign companies, Chairman of the Russian Association of Gambling Business Dmitry Anfinogenov told TASS.

"We can say investments in the gambling industry surged approximately 1.5-fold as of the end of 2022, from 600 mln rubles ($8.7 mln) in 2021 to more than one billion rubles ($14.5 mln) in 2022," Anfinogenov said.

Growth took place contrary to sanctions and absence of Western investors, the expert said. "Yes, Western investors are departing. However, the Russian business, whose funds were invested in foreign projects earlier, is starting to invest more actively. Furthermore, the business from certain friendly states is more and more often taking the place of Western investors," Anfinogenov noted.

Growth in 2022 was largely driven by purchases of land plots, in the Primorsky Region in particular, new equipment procurement and accompanying infrastructure development and not by new sites opening, he said.

The increase of about two times more is expected as of the end of 2023, the expert said. "We plan raising 2 bln [rubles] ($29 mln) of investments in the next year," he added.

Several gambling clusters currently exist in Russia, in particular, in Krasnodar, Primorsky, Altai and Kaliningrad Regions, and in Crimea.