Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko ordered a further study of the gambling business and its advertising in the country as he touched upon the matter at a meeting in Minsk on 10 September, BelTA has learned.
“What do you call them - ‘spin the goose’ [a well-known advertising slogan of one online casino] - you have plastered these ads everywhere. It has even got to the point, apparently, that [supposedly] my family is involved in this. My family… Yet it is me they hound every day. They keep pressuring me to pay attention to this,” the head of state said. “Look at what is going on in the country - everyone is spinning this goose. Dmitry Nikolayevich [Krutoi, Head of the Belarus President Administration], take this seriously,” the Belarusian leader instructed.
“What is this? We have online casinos, and casinos in general, and so on. I am already confused by these concepts,” the head of state noted.
Dmitry Krutoi assured him in response: “Everything is over-regulated, Comrade President.”
“Well, it is over-regulated, but our country has turned into a casino,” the head of state remarked. “Some Fonbets [referring to a bookmaker company operating on the Belarusian market] and others.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko also addressed Chairman of the State Control Committee Vasily Gerasimov: “It has got to the point that you have to bring some people to their senses. They write to me: ‘You know, we are losing some… [funds]’. And they write such nonsense, as if they are going to invest in some ‘serious’ areas that we do not need at all. And they cite a figure, saying their losses will be around $500 million.”
“That is a lie,” the chairman of the State Control Committee said.
“So just think about what kind of turnover is involved here! That is why there must be no deviation from the interests of the state. And pay attention to these Fonbets and casinos. Yes, they pay money somewhere, and so on. But that does not mean the whole country should be covered and plastered with all these posters and ads - especially under [Minsk Mayor Vladimir] Kukharev,” the head of state pointed out. “Our country is clean and beautiful, for the people. Well, probably some of it is not for the people. As its [State Control Committee’s] audits show, huge sums of money are leaving our state.”
“I know that you have taken up this problem. Bring in the relevant people so that we have not just a complete picture but a decision. We should not rush to grab at this money everywhere,” Aleksandr Lukashenko concluded, addressing Vasily Gerasimov.
