Game not over

Some St. Petersburg casinos promise their customers to open soon

Most gambling clubs in St. Petersburg, contrary to the assurances of officials, did not close on July 1. Some have changed the sign and now, instead of the phrase “slot machines”, words with the root “lotto” are written above the doors - “electronic lottery”, “lottoclub”, “lottotron”. And some simply dismantled the inscriptions - and so everything is clear. A Vremya Novostey correspondent visited some establishments that opened on the site of gaming clubs.

Almost nothing has changed in the halls. The game is not dead, only the surroundings have changed. The slot machines are humming, the regulars are smoking convulsively and pressing buttons. In the same room with the “one-armed bandits,” bill acceptors were dismantled. The administrator asked to contact the cashier. There they took my money and gave me a “lottery ticket” with a face value equal to the amount given. Then the number of these units was transferred to the machine I had chosen, and they turned into the usual credit in the corner of the monitor with “crazy fruits” or other design of the drawn gaming reels. If you lose, you, of course, leave with nothing. And having won, you go back to the box office, where you are again given a ticket, the denomination of which is equal to the amount won. And then the administrator offers to contact the person sitting in the next room, who has nothing to do with the establishment. But I’m ready to buy your piece of paper at face value.

Another "lottery machine" has been turned into a match shop with slot machines around the counter. A box costs a hundred rubles. And along with it you are given a bonus coupon with the number “100” - prize points that you can randomly run through the machine. If you lose, you leave; if you win, you get money.

In the third establishment they did not even dismantle the bill acceptors. But they attached a card reader (memory card reader) to the device. At the entrance, the administrator hands the client a plastic card. And the money placed in the bill acceptor ends up on this card. Then, from the machine’s monitor, the player is offered to buy a virtual lottery ticket for 100, 500 or 1000 rubles. Having selected the desired one and paid with money from the card, the player finds himself in the familiar interface of the slot machine, with two lines - bank and credit. The first is the amount for which the client bought the ticket, and the second is what remains on the card. If the money in the “bank” runs out, the “credit” replenishes it. I finished the game, took the card, and went to the cashier. The girl withdraws virtual money from the card and gives it to you, asking you to fill out a payment receipt - “last name, signature.”

A Vremya Novostei correspondent managed to talk to the director of the club without a sign. He introduced himself as Sergei and explained that 99% of the club’s clients are regulars: “They have been coming here for many years. We know each other by name. Now there is a loophole in the form of a lottery. If it doesn’t exist, we’ll put machines in some apartment. And our clients will always know where we are. Only the authorities will not know this, and we will not have taxes."

It's the same story with casinos. They are also being repurposed. Poker clubs are still being organized there. In fact, it is interesting only to athletes - enthusiasts of this card game, who already had a place to play without repurposing gambling clubs. And only a few people play it. The majority of people need a tape measure. So far we have not been able to find working roulettes in St. Petersburg. But there is demand - from the same regulars of gambling establishments. Only at a higher level than fans of “one-armed bandits”. And experts are confident that club owners will find a place to invite their clients. Dmitry Pavlov, a businessman who liked to place chips on the green table every weekend, told a Vremya Novostei correspondent that the administrator of his favorite club had already called him: “He warned me not to worry under any circumstances. As he told me, now The premises are being prepared, and as soon as it is equipped, they will tell me where to go. They promised that the service to which I am accustomed will remain at the same level.”

But there are softer options. For example, online casinos. They are prohibited by law. But, as Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Mikhail Oseevsky explained to Vremya Novostey, the owner of such a resource can be held accountable if his gaming site is registered in a Russian domain zone. But online casinos, as a rule, are registered on the resources of other countries. And the global network is global so that the user has access to everything that is located on it. Therefore, you can safely play at online casinos at home from your personal computer. True, most players need not only the opportunity to win or lose money, but also the surroundings - beer, cigarettes, company. Internet cafes are organized for such fans of the game.

As for gaming clubs disguised as lotteries, officials intend to fight them. As Mikhail Oseevsky told Vremya Novostey, the St. Petersburg government is preparing to submit a legislative initiative to the State Duma of the Russian Federation, the purpose of which is to regulate the concept of “lottery” and “lottery machines” in order to close the legal loopholes for the owners of “one-armed bandits” for their existence.

When developing the law on gambling, officials did not take into account its specifics. And it turned out that the demand for these entertainments is still high, but there is nowhere to sell it. Gambling zones, which were supposed to host casinos and gaming clubs, are not ready to do so today. According to experts, they will be able to start work only in five years. Therefore, gambling fans can either support illegal businesses or go abroad to play.

Mikhail TELEKHOV, St. Petersburg