The key topics on the summit agenda, in addition to the results of the 2024 work of all gambling zones, were also the main trends in the tourism industry and event tourism as a driver for the development of Russian regions. The speakers shared plans for infrastructure development, the transformation of the inbound tourism experience and a change in the portrait of the audience with an emphasis on the share of visitors from the younger generation.
According to AIRIS, for the period from January 1 to November 1, 2024, three gambling zones - Krasnaya Polyana (Sochi), Yantarnaya (Kaliningrad) and Sibirskaya Moneta (Altai) - demonstrated significant growth in indicators. Total attendance reached 1,223,382 visitors, an increase of 34.9% compared to the same period in 2023. Total tax revenues from these zones amounted to RUB 1,602,330,441, an increase of 3.7%.
AIRIS Executive Director Dmitry Anfinogenov noted that gambling zones are becoming important centers of attraction for tourists: “The growth in attendance indicates that we are moving in the right direction. Gambling zones are being transformed into multifunctional resorts offering a wide range of entertainment and services. This attracts new audience segments - young people and female visitors. The plans include continuing to qualitatively develop event tourism in order to strengthen our position as growth drivers for attracting tourist flow.”
Particular attention at the summit was paid to the investment attractiveness of the regions. Dmitry Vorona, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy, emphasized the importance of infrastructure development: “Today, the demand for tourism services in Russia exceeds supply by two times, so the priority task is to build up the existing potential as quickly as possible. Enormous attention is focused on infrastructure development, and this concerns not only government but also private investment. And gambling zones are one of the elements of attraction for strengthening the investment attractiveness of tourism clusters.”
Primorsky Krai notes interest from foreign investors. Rashid Ibragimov, CEO of the Primorsky Krai Development Corporation, spoke about the region's prospects: "Currently, the deficit of hotel rooms in Primorsky Krai is about 13.5 thousand rooms, excluding the annual increase in tourist flow. Of course, the resort has investment potential and "growth points": for example, we offer investors 9 land plots with a total area of 90 hectares for the construction of gambling, entertainment and hotel complexes. International interest in the resort is still present, in particular, we have now received an application for the construction of townhouses with entertainment facilities with an investment volume of 7.2 billion rubles from an investor from South Korea."
The Krasnaya Polyana gaming zone has demonstrated impressive results thanks to a rich program of events, including music festivals, gourmet dinners and theatrical performances. This has contributed to the growth of non-gaming revenues by more than 60% over the past three years. In Siberian Coin, tourism infrastructure is actively developing, including health tourism and holding electronic music festivals, which has led to an increase in attendance by 124.5% in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Experts noted that the development of event tourism and improvement of infrastructure are key factors for further growth of the industry. It is planned to expand the number of rooms, create new entertainment complexes and improve transport accessibility of gambling zones.
Dmitry Anfinogenov added: "We see great potential in integrating gambling zones into the country's tourism ecosystem. Together with public and private partners, we are working to ensure that our zones become centers of attraction not only for Russian, but also for foreign tourists. This contributes to the development of regions, the creation of jobs and an increase in tax revenues."
Gambling zones in Russia continue to make a significant contribution to the country's economy, becoming important drivers of domestic tourism development. Their transformation into multifunctional resorts and active attraction of investments create new opportunities for tourists and strengthen Russia's position in the global tourism market.
The fourth AIRIS gaming summit with the participation of top managers of Russian gambling zones, representatives of government bodies and specialized associations will be held on November 20, 2025.