{"id":9931,"date":"2025-06-26T13:33:56","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T12:33:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sbceurasia.com\/en\/?p=9931"},"modified":"2025-06-26T13:34:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T12:34:03","slug":"azerbaijan-considers-opening-casinos-in-special-zones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sbceurasia.com\/en\/2025\/06\/26\/azerbaijan-considers-opening-casinos-in-special-zones\/","title":{"rendered":"Azerbaijan Considers Opening Casinos in Special Zones"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Major plans to reintroduce casinos have been presented to <strong>Azerbaijan\u2019s Parliament<\/strong> in a bid to boost tourism in the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to draft amendments of the <strong>Law on State Fees,<\/strong> casinos would specifically be allowed on artificial islands in the Caspian Sea and in some coastal areas in the north and south of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those seeking to open a casino in the country would be required to pay an annual licence fee of <strong>AZN340,000 ($200,000)<\/strong>, and participation will be limited to those over the age of 21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If successful, the decision would reverse a ban on casinos implemented in <strong>1998<\/strong>. Currently, only state-run lotteries and licensed retail sports betting are legally permitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Proponents of the reintroduction point to the economic benefits of introducing casinos, highlighting the revenue generated by neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking to Report News Agency, MP<strong> Vugar Bayramov<\/strong>, a member of the Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship Committee, commented: \u201cMany tourism countries allow casino operations, and this could be one such step for Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAlthough Georgia is smaller than Azerbaijan in territory and population, it leads in tourism revenues. A significant portion of Georgian casino revenues comes from foreign clients, including tourists from Azerbaijan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>In 2024, Georgia <\/strong>reported that its gambling sector generated a turnover of <strong>$28bn (\u00a320.6bn)<\/strong> and employs over<strong> 20,000 people<\/strong>. As an indicator of the appetite for casinos in the country, it is estimated that 20% of Georgia\u2019s turnover was generated by visitors from Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Singer and businessman<strong> Emin Agalarov<\/strong>, the former son-in-law of the Azerbaijani President <strong>Ilham Aliyev<\/strong>, has also expressed to local media his interest in opening a casino at his <strong>Sea Breeze<\/strong> resort on the Absheron Peninsula \u2013 claiming that the Nardaran settlement where Sea Breeze is located could become the \u2018Abershon Las Vegas\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said: \u201cSea Breeze would benefit significantly if we could integrate the gambling business. This is being considered by the state. Everyone understands that casinos are a tourist attraction. If this plan can be implemented, the project will be completely finished.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The proposed legislation now needs to be considered within Azerbaijan\u2019s Parliament, and a vote is expected imminently.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The introduction of casinos remains a key consideration for countries seeking to boost tourism and stimulate the local economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Legislation is currently progressing in <strong>Thailand<\/strong> that will allow the inclusion of casinos within integrated resorts in several tourist hotspots. Meanwhile, the <strong>UAE<\/strong> awaits the opening of its first casino upon the completion of <strong>Wynn Resorts<\/strong>\u2019 proposed venue in 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Elsewhere, after opening its regulated online gaming market at the beginning of 2025, <strong>Brazilian<\/strong> Senators have renewed the push for House Leaders to consider a bill to bring land-based casinos to the country. Leaders have repeatedly reiterated the financial benefits of establishing a land-based casino market, suggesting that investments following the bill\u2019s approval could reach R$100bn ($13.5bn) and could generate 1.5 million jobs in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don&#8217;t forget to subscribe to our <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/sbceurasia\">Telegram channel<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Major plans to reintroduce casinos have been presented to Azerbaijan\u2019s Parliament in a bid to boost tourism in the nation. According to draft amendments of the Law on State Fees, casinos would specifically be allowed on artificial islands in the Caspian Sea and in some coastal areas in the north and south of the country. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":9932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,1,24,564],"tags":[299,50,13164,13163],"class_list":["post-9931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casino","category-news","category-regulations","category-slider","tag-azerbaijan","tag-casino","tag-emin-agalarov","tag-vugar-bayramov"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Azerbaijan Considers Opening Casinos in Special Zones - SBC EURASIA EN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Major plans to reintroduce casinos have been presented to Azerbaijan\u2019s Parliament in a bid to boost tourism in the nation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sbceurasia.com\/en\/2025\/06\/26\/azerbaijan-considers-opening-casinos-in-special-zones\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Azerbaijan Considers Opening Casinos in Special Zones - 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