(AsiaGameHub) – Revenues at the Altai Palace, Siberia’s only casino, continue to rise, but growth has slowed dramatically, with net profits on the decline.
The development may come as a warning for the Kremlin, which has recently approved an ambitious plan to create a new gambling zone just a few dozen kilometers away.
In its annual financial report, Altai Palace posted revenues of over $15 million, a 3.3% rise compared to last year.
However, last year’s growth exceeded 17%, leading many analysts to believe the casino was on an irreversible upward trajectory.
Siberia’s Only Casino: A Warning to Developers?
Land-based casinos are illegal in Russia, except for five designated gambling zones. One of these is the Siberian Coin zone in Altai Krai.
That number will soon increase to six, following the Kremlin’s approval of a Sberbank-backed proposal to establish a casino and a luxury hotel in the nearby Altai Republic.
Altai Palace’s net profits fell by nearly 5%, while gross profits also declined by 0.1%, according to Russian media outlet NGS22.
This news raises questions about the viability of the new development in the Altai Republic. Experts have described the planned casino—to be located at the existing Manzherok ski resort—as being “on a par with those in Macao.”
Sberbank is Russia’s largest commercial bank and one of the country’s wealthiest corporations.
Nevertheless, the developments at Altai Palace may give the developers pause for thought.
The media outlet reported that the casino operator attributed the slowdown in growth to “a combination of economic and geopolitical factors.”
These include an unstable international environment, sanctions imposed by the US, EU, and UK, heightened uncertainty in capital markets, and a weakening ruble.
As officials were considering the Altai Republic proposal last year, industry experts urged the Kremlin to abandon the plan.
Instead, authorities recommended that the Kremlin consider approving a gambling zone on the outskirts of Moscow.
Moscow’s Casino Pivot
Casino expansion plans are also underway in another Russian gambling zone: Kaliningrad.
Shambala, which operates casinos in Kaliningrad’s Yantarnaya zone and the far-eastern Primorsky Krai, announced it has received approval to build a five-floor luxury hotel and casino complex atop its current single-story facility in Kaliningrad.
Gaming executives are calling on lawmakers to support the Ministry of Finance’s proposal to legalize online casinos. The ministry seeks to impose a 30% annual tax on online operators, after subtracting payouts.
Meanwhile, in the Perm region, a court has sentenced two individuals to more than four years in prison. A Perm District Court found the pair guilty of running four illegal gambling clubs in Perm and Krasnokamsk between September 2022 and December 2024.
The court also ordered 11 female accomplices, identified as gambling den employees, to pay “substantial” but unspecified fines, according to Russian media outlet Tsargrad.
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