Casino and slot-machine parlour shutdown in Russia

Hundreds of thousands of Russian jobs have been axed as the country bans gambling and shuts down its casinos. But many critics of the move say it has more to do with Russia's poor ties with Georgia. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has linked gaming operations to Georgian organised crime. He came up with the plan to end gambling in 2006, when he was still president. The July 1 move has left rows of dormant slot machines wrapped in cellophane which once blinked around the clock in smoky, crowded halls which became popular after the collpase of the Soviet Union in 1991. Yuri Boyev, general director at upmarket casino Metelitsa, where Russia's oligarch's rolled the dice, said: "I feel terrible. We just let 1,000 people go," said The industry says the ban will axe at least 300,000 jobs but officials in Moscow put the national figure at only 11,500. Moscow deputy mayor Sergei Baidakov, watching men dismantle poker tables and lay roulette wheels on the floor, said the state is ready to thwart any big to move gambling underground, adding: "We are confident we will control the situation." City police stood on guard in case of protests by disgruntled former workers and a hotline was set up to report on those suspected of operating illegal gambling. Midnight on Novy Arbat street, the heart of the gambling scene, was muted as its flashing lights and loud music were turned off for the first time in over a decade. Each year gaming brought in billions of pounds, a gap the industry says will cause the state a budget headache. The industry has raised eyebrows at government guarantees of work in restaurants and shopping centres that are to replace casinos when unemployment in Russia has hit an eight-year high.

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ITN | July 1, 2009

Tags:. .machines. .midnight. .headache. .wrapped. .guarantees