Russian President has introduced a bill designed to create a new gambling zone in Crimea, according to an announcement made last Monday on the Russian Parliament's official website.

      Under a 2007 law designed to curb gambling in major Russian cities and boost economic growth in remote regions, casinos and other gambling establishments were restricted to operating in four specially-designated zones in the country.

      Crimea is expected to join four currently existing gambling zones in Altai, Kaliningrad, Krasnodar and Primorsky regions.

      Crimea, formerly a part of Ukraine, held a referendum on reunification with Russia on March 16 in reaction to dangerous nationalist rhetoric from the coup-imposed authorities in Kiev. Over 96 percent of voters in the region supported integration into the Russian Federation, and a treaty providing for reunification was signed on March 18.