Игорные зоны России: где легально играть в наземных казино

Where land-based casinos legally operate in Russia

You can legally play in a land-based casino in Russia only within four special gambling zones: Krasnaya Polyana in Sochi, Primorye in Primorsky Krai, Yantarnaya in Kaliningrad Oblast and Sibirskaya Moneta in Altai. Beyond their borders, the operation of casinos and slot machine halls is banned and prosecuted by law.

This order was established by Federal Law No. 244-FZ, which took effect on July 1, 2009. Before that date gambling establishments operated in practically any city, but the reform moved gambling entirely into isolated territories. The idea was borrowed from foreign resorts like Las Vegas and Macau: concentrating the industry in separate zones simplifies oversight and ties gambling to tourism.

In addition to casinos, the law permits the operation of bookmakers and betting pools throughout the country provided they hold a license, as well as lotteries. But roulette, poker tables and slot machines specifically are legal exclusively inside the gambling zones.

The four operating gambling zones

As of 2026, four zones operate in the country, and each has its own specialization and geography of visitors.

Krasnaya Polyana is the largest and most visited. It is located in the mountain cluster of Sochi, in the village of Estosadok in the Adler district, at an altitude of about 540 meters. The zone grew on the infrastructure built for the 2014 Olympics and is convenient because it is easy to reach from Sochi airport. Here several casinos operate with hundreds of machines and dozens of gaming tables, along with hotels and restaurants.

Primorye is located on the shore of Muravyinaya Bay in the Artyomovsky urban district, about 50 km from Vladivostok. The zone was originally designed for the Asian market — the main flow of guests consists of tourists from China, Korea and Japan.

Yantarnaya is located in the village of Kulikovo in Kaliningrad Oblast, about 40 km from Kaliningrad on the Baltic coast. This is the westernmost zone, oriented toward residents of the exclave and guests from neighboring regions.

Sibirskaya Moneta operates in the Altaisky district of Altai Krai, next to the Biryuzovaya Katun resort. Of the four zones it develops most slowly due to its remoteness and seasonality, but it remains the only legal venue for the Asian part of the country alongside Primorye.

• Krasnaya Polyana — Sochi, Krasnodar Krai (mountain cluster)
• Primorye — Muravyinaya Bay, Primorsky Krai
• Yantarnaya — the village of Kulikovo, Kaliningrad Oblast
• Sibirskaya Moneta — Altaisky district, Altai Krai

What happened to Azov-City and other zones

Azov-City is a closed gambling zone that operated from 2010 to 2018 on the border of Krasnodar Krai and Rostov Oblast. It was the first zone actually launched in the country, but it was liquidated in favor of prioritizing the development of Sochi's Krasnaya Polyana: the law did not allow having two zones in one region, and the choice was made in favor of Sochi with its Olympic legacy.

The 2006–2009 law originally provided for only four zones, but the list was then revised several times. The Kaliningrad and Primorye zones were retained, Azov-City was closed, and the Sochi one was added separately. In the 2020s the creation of new venues was discussed, including in Crimea, but the projects never reached a full launch.

In 2026 a law was passed to create one more gambling zone — in the Altai Republic. This is a separate region, not the same as Altai Krai, where Sibirskaya Moneta already operates. The project is at an early stage, and it is too soon to speak of operating casinos there.

Rules for players and operators

Any citizen who has reached the age of 18 may play at a gambling-zone casino upon presenting a passport at the entrance. Age verification is mandatory, and security has the right to refuse entry without a document.

Casino operators are required to hold a permit to operate in a specific gambling zone and to comply with requirements for the size of net assets and authorized capital — under the law it is at least 600 million rubles. The state also sets the minimum number of gaming tables and machines that must be in a hall, which weeds out small, unserious projects.

A separate topic is online. Online casinos in Russia are completely banned: the law provides no legal space for them, and Roskomnadzor blocks gambling websites. The only things that remain legal online are sports bets through licensed bookmakers working with a single regulator and the TSUPIS unified payment center. Advertising and the activity of illegal online casinos are prosecuted, and the shadow-industry market itself, according to industry-source estimates, amounts to hundreds of billions of rubles a year.

How to choose a zone for a trip

In practice the choice of zone is determined first of all by geography and the purpose of the trip, not by the range of games — the set of tables and machines in the large casinos is similar.

For residents of the European part of Russia and for tourists, Krasnaya Polyana is the most convenient: developed transport accessibility, the ability to combine it with the ski and seaside recreation of Sochi, and the widest selection of venues and events. Yantarnaya suits those traveling to Kaliningrad Oblast, but it is more modest in scale. Primorye and Sibirskaya Moneta are of interest to residents of Siberia and the Far East, as well as to foreign guests from Asia, for whom these are the nearest legal venues.