A survey published Wednesday found that gambling remains unpopular among a vast majority of Russians, five years after the adoption of legislation sharply limiting the number of authorized gambling establishments.
The poll, conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, or VTSIoM, found that 94 of Russians do not gamble, the same percentage found in a 2009 poll.
The survey also found that only 4 percent of Russian admitted that they bet on the outcome of their card games. Less than 1 percent of the population admitted to gambling in casinos, which were confined to specially designated areas in the Kaliningrad, Altai, Primorye and Krasnodar regions.
In January, Russian police shut more than 61,000 underground gambling establishments, facilities that have surfaced since the adoption of a law banning them in populated areas in 2009.
More than 70 percent of the poll's respondents said they thought the ban on casino had had positive effects. A mere 11 percent thought the legislation had not been beneficial.
The outcome of the poll, which was conducted in July, was based on the responses of a representative sample of 1,600 adults across 42 regions. The poll carries a 3.4 percent margin of error.
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