Investment in Russia’s far east Primorye gaming zone has “stalled” due to the wide variety of easier accessible gaming options in the region, according to a local academic.

Monday brought word that Diamond Fortune Holdings had broken ground on its Primorye casino project Selena, the first phase of which could potentially open as early as 2019. The announcement was welcome news for a gaming zone that has seen as many developmental setbacks as it has positive developments.

On Tuesday, Federal Press published an interview with Institute of International Business and Economics academic Aleksandrom Latkinym on why Primorye was having such a hard time building its casino market. At present, only Lawrence Ho’s Tigre de Cristal casino has opened to the public – and it’s having trouble competing with local basement casinos, let alone established Asia-Pacific rivals – while NagaCorp’s Lighthouse project isn’t expected to open until late 2018.

Latkinym suggested investment has stalled because gamblers have too many other regional casino options where “conditions are better than in Russia,” with a “wider range of services and cheaper hotels” that are also far easier to access than the infrastructure-challenged Primorye zone outside Vladivostok on Russia’s eastern coast.