2 November, Vitebsk /Sergey Kochetov - BELTA/. Tax payments from the activities of commercial entities in the gambling sector in the Vitebsk region in January-September amounted to almost Br7.4 billion, an increase of 16.5% in comparable terms compared to the same period in 2010. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by the press service of the Ministry of Taxes and Duties Inspectorate for the Vitebsk region. In total, there are one thousand and seventeen gambling facilities in the region, including almost 980 slot machines, 26 betting offices, and 13 gaming tables. Compared to the data for October 2010, the number of gambling facilities decreased by five units. Slightly over 50% of all gambling facilities operate in Vitebsk, with another 12% each in Novopolotsk and Polotsk, as well as about 13.5% in Orsha. In addition, gambling facilities are located in Postavsky (36 facilities), Gluboksky (35), Tolochinsky (16), Chashniksky (11), and Miorsky (8) districts. There are 26 business entities engaged in the gambling business in the region, with more than half of them registered for tax purposes in other regions of Belarus. Compared to October 2010, the number of such entities decreased by 16%. The share of the gambling tax in the total revenue of the region's consolidated budget for the nine months was about 0.2%. -0-

BELTA