The restriction imposed by the Russian government to the gambling industry in the last few years has led some operators to show their discontent and take some measures about it. Such is the case of Storm International, which announced this week its possible retirement of the Russian market and transfer to more profitable markets.

The measures adopted by the Russian government include the exile of the big gaming centers from the main cities like Moscow and Saint Petersburg to more distant regions. Also, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, compared the addiction caused by gambling to that caused by alcohol and nicotine. Beside these facts, profits of the gambling industry in Russia have not stopped growing and nowadays represent U$S 7.000 million a year, after 10 consecutive years of expansion.

Michael Boettcher, director of Storm International – which is the biggest casino operator in Russia at the moment – said that his company could abandon the country after 16 years of operations if a change in this restrictive policy is not seen soon. This will include moving the company’s investments to emerging markets that are more attractive than the developed countries because their laws regarding the gaming industry are not that strict.

Storm plans to open a casino in Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, on May and another in Costa Rica that will be open by July.