Former Royal Time Group head declared bankrupt

Friday 6th of July 2018

Rashid Teymasov, the former head of Royal Time Group has been declared bankrupt, while the company he headed has exited all projects in other Russian gambling zones except Azov-City, local media reports.

The Oracul casino in Azov-City was the first to open after the Russian authorities restricted gambling activities to designated zones back in 2010 and it is now the only gambling facility operated by Royal Time Group.

However, even this project is facing closure later this year due to the establishment of another gambling zone in the same region after the 2014 Olympics.

Royal Time Group’s investment portfolio previously included projects in the gambling zones in Altai Territory, Primorye and Kaliningrad.

Russian media said Teymasov and the company’s current state of affairs are linked to the revocation of license from a leading Kazan bank, Tatfondbank, back in 2017.

The bank was understood to have financed the company's projects.

Teymasov is reported to owe his creditors some RUB 203.5 million (US$3.2 million) and voluntarily filed for bankruptcy.

Betting survey results

In a recent poll conducted by Russian marketing agency Zoom Market, Krasnodar, Rostov-on-Don, and Moscow are the three biggest gambling cities in the country.

The poll was conducted among 2,000 respondents aged 23 to 57 years in 20 Russian cities.

The results found that people from the three cities are particularly keen on sports betting (at betting shops and online) and playing in online casinos, the research suggests.

The Russian authorities appear to have been continuing their crackdown on illegal online bookmakers, with over 12,000 websites being blocked in Russia in June alone.

Tigre wins award at WTA

Meanwhile, Tigre de Cristal has won the award for “Leading Russian Resort 2018” in the World Travel Award (WTA), according to the regional development corporation.

"The hotel and entertainment complex Tigre de Cristal Hotel & Resort won in the category 'Leading Russian Resort 2018'," the statement reads.

The WTA, established in 1993, is awarded to popular tourist destinations around the globe based on votes by tourists and industry experts.

The Tigre de Cristal casino is estimated to have transferred to Primorye Territory's budget and non-budgetary funds more than RUB 500 million rubles in 2017 (US$8 million).