50-year ban on gaming
In the film classic Lawrence of Arabia, adventurer T.E. Lawrence helped lead the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans at the Jordanian port of Aqaba. Could a latter-day Lawrence one day park his camel at a casino in the port city?
According to the World Casino Directory, the government of Jordan is pondering the viability of legal casinos in the vacation resort of Aqaba, in the Red Sea gulf, as well as other areas including the Dead Sea.
Jordanian Vice Prime Minister Ali Abu al-Ragheb disclosed the plan at a recent seminar entitled, “Investment in Jordan, Chances and Challenges,” held by the Jordanian Transparency Society. Hard times for the kingdom’s economy prompted the conversation.
It’s not the first time casinos have been considered as an economic solution. In 2007, reports the Guardian newspaper, Prime Minister Ma’arouf al-Bakhit secretly authorized an “extra-legal supercasino complex” at the Dead Sea, a major tourist attraction for Arabs and Israelis.
The PM denied the allegations, but the “Casinogate” scandal lingers on, and the government faces a $1.4 billion penalty if the 50-year contract is cancelled. The Guardian also reported that a few years earlier, in 2003, licenses were issued for two casino developments under then Prime Minister Faisal al-Fayez. That contract too had a 50-year term, and no casino was ever built.
With the proposal back on the table, authorities are said to be weighing a ban on gaming by locals, and a more relaxed policy toward Iranians who want to visit the Arab nation.
