Bingo comes to Bolivia, by way of Russia

Bingo comes to Bolivia, by way of Russia

(Source: Special to The Miami Herald - BY ANNIE MURPHY)
SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia -- As Washington watches its influence wane in Latin America, Russia is picking up the slack, with military exercises and arms deals in Venezuela, billion-dollar gas pipelines across the continent, and now, casinos in Bolivia.
But Bolivian authorities are worried that foreign-run gambling is far from a boon for the country. Russian-owned Ritzio Entertainment Group is a key player, also operating Bolivia's Bingo Bahiti clubs, best known for both electronic and live bingo, the same game played across the United States.
While bingo in the United States is generally associated with grandparents and retirees, in Bolivia it's catching on with young people.
Ritzio is the largest of the Russian-owned casinos that have turned up in Bolivia over the past five years, as former president and now Prime Minister Vladimir Putin cracked down on gambling.

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Three years ago, a law passed in Russia declared that gambling would be barred from cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg by 2009, and restricted to four remote regions: Kalingrad, Primorye, Altai and Rostov-Krasnodar.
Two years ago, Ritzio earned about $1.6 billion in revenue from its gambling operations and began expanding abroad. In Latin America, it now operates clubs in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru.
According to Bingo Bahiti, the chain earns about $2.5 million a year in Bolivia; the government office that regulates casinos declined to discuss revenue or earnings.