Casinos and slot-machine halls across Russia have been shutting down to comply with sweeping new restrictions.
The law that came into effect at midnight on Wednesday requires all gambling businesses to relocate to special zones in four distant regions of the country.
More than 300,000 people are estimated to be out of work as a result and Russian TV said more than 40,000 are affected in Moscow alone.
The legislation was first passed in 1996 and was the idea of the then president Vladimir Putin.
Novy Arbat is one of the capital's biggest, brashest roads. Peppered with casinos, it used to light up the night sky like a mini Las Vegas.
But its signature illuminations will be no more, under the restrictions.
Despite being a playground for Russia's nouveau riche, Moscow is now a city devoid of gambling.
Interfax reported that police in the capital were checking gambling halls to make sure they had shut.
Although casinos are allowed in far-flung corners of the country, critics have complained that they are not ready to start functioning.
Russian gamblers will have to go to the Kaliningrad region by the Baltic Sea, the Primorye region in the Far East, Altai in Siberia or an area in the south spanning the Rostov and Krasnodar regions.
There are fears that the lack of preparation in these zones will force investors to move out of Russia and take their money to other countries.
There are also concerns the restrictions will push gambling underground, but campaigners argue that the legislation is good news for those who are addicted.
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