MOSCOW, August 2 (RAPSI) - The number of criminal cases connected with organizing and participating in gambling activities of any sort in Russia has doubled from the year-earlier period, Moscow Prosecutor Sergei Kudeneyev said on Friday.

According to the prosecutor, in the first half of this year, illegal activities of 600 gambling venues were stopped. 

"21 criminal cases have been launched, more than twice as much as a year earlier," Kudeneyev said.

The federal law on banning the gambling business came into effect on July 1, 2009. Pursuant to the law, all gambling venues were either to be closed or removed to special zones. Despite the ban, underground casinos and gambling venues are continuously being uncovered and closed. After the ban, many casinos and venues have operated under the guise of Internet clubs and lotteries.