Vows to Fight Casinos and Gambling Online
The Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church recently expressed concern over the growing number of people spending time at casinos and gambling online. In Russia and the former Soviet republics, thousands of people are becoming addicted to these activities.
Patriarch Alexy II said the Orthodox clergy is fighting against the growing prevalence of casinos and gambling online in Russian people’s lives. Casinos and gambling online are one of the social challenges that have gripped Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The casinos and gambling online industries have taken Russia by storm in recent years, growing at the incredibly fast pace of 30- 40% a year since the early 1990s. According to official government records, there are more than 800 casinos in Russia that hold licenses from the government. Scores more unlicensed casinos can be found in each Russian city. Around 80 of the licensed casinos are in Moscow alone, which has 67,000 slot machines.
Patriarch Alexy II made these remarks against the Russian and former USSR casinos gambling epidemic during a celebration of his saint’s day, held at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
Tags: casinos, gambling online