Gambling addicts, already reeling from the Government's banning of casinos in Russia, lost their final legal outlet to win or lose a few roubles this week, after Poker was added to the list of outlawed sports.
Following the general gambling ban introduced on 1st July casino owners were planning to turn their premises into poker halls. But the government, worried that this would simply be a front for illegal gambling dens, trumped any chances of this and closed the Poker loophole.
In a sign that the city government would take action against any venues that didn't comply, soon after the ban came into force the City Prosecutor's Office came down on five businesses in Moscow that were still operating poker tables.... |