Russian Gambling Going Global
10th December, 2007
Ritzio Entertainment Group, the biggest Russian gambling firm, has is expanding into various European markets partially as a contingency plan that they developed as a response to the threat of the tighter gambling regulations in their home market.
According to Larisa Shishkina, the spokesperson for the Ritzio group, the company has already purchased 80 slot-machine halls in Germany earlier this year, which cost them around $100 million. This has given them a total of between 1% and 2% of the German market, a small step towards a target of 15% that Ritzio wants to acquire in German market in total.
The next target after Germany is Italy, where Ritzio has already managed to created a venture with a local gambling operator.
It is not surprising that the company wants to establish itself in various markets aside from the Russian, as the first signs of tougher gambling regulations are already showing their face.
Only this month, the government has declared that from July 2009, gambling activity will become illegal everywhere aside from the four specific areas, such as the exclave of Kaliningrad and the Far East.
Vladimir Putin was the one to present the bill, referencing the national concerns and worries about the effects of gambling on cultural morals and standards.
Shishkina feels that the new law has made the company even more dynamic and pro-active.
"We have always aimed to diversify geographically and become Eastern Europe's largest gaming holding. The new law has pushed us to work faster and more dynamically," she explained.
Ritzio Entertainment Group is owned and managed by Russia’s 43rd richest man, Oleg Boiko, and the company now is responsible for gaming chains Vulcan, Million and City Casino.
According to Shishkina, year 2006 brought Ritzio $1.2 billion turnover and 900 gaming salons in Russia, Germany, Italy, Belarus Ukraine, the three Baltic states, the Czech Republic, Romania, Peru, Bolivia and Mexico.
