KHUJAND, September 29, 2011, Asia-Plus — All gambling halls of Kyrgyzstan will probably be relocated to Batken region, which borders the Tajik northern Sughd province.
CA New (KG) reports the draft law on gambling activity in Kyrgyzstan is put for public discussion. The draft law, in particular, provides for moving all gambling halls and casinos to the Batken region.
Created on October 12, 1999 from the westernmost section of Osh region, Batken region is bounded on the east by Osh region, on the south, west and north by the Tajik Sughd province Tajikistan and on the northeast by Uzbekistan.
The population of the province was reported as 382,400 by the census of 1999. Of them, 26.2 per cent lived in the province”s four cities, and 73.8 per cent in the rural areas.
It is to be noted that several gambling halls and two casinos – Shangri-La and Coliseum – now operate in Batken region. The majority of their clients are citizens of Tajikistan, in particular residents of the Bobojonghafurov district and the city of Khujand. The Shangri-La Casino, for example, is located on borders of three countries – Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. It is located some 22 kilometers of Khujand, the capital of the Tajik northern Sughd province, 170 kilometers of Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and 120 kilometers of Batken (Kyrgyzstan).
