Personal appeal to former PM
Turkish President Recep Tayyp Erdogan had asked former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili to help him campaign for the closure of casinos located along Turkey’s border. Erdogan evidently is alarmed by the number of Turks who cross the border to play at the gaming halls.
According to CalvinAyre.com, Ivanishvili is no fan of the casinos but realizes they’re a moneymaker for Georgia, particularly in the Adjara region on the Black Sea, home of the casino city of Batumi.
The billionaire founder of Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream Party claims Erdogan made a personal pitch to Ivanishvili to help grant his wish. Erdogan reportedly made the same plea when Ivanishvili was still in office.
As a practicing Muslim, Erdogan disapproves of gambling, a pastime forbidden by Islam and prohibited in Turkey as well as the neighboring countries of Iran and Azerbaijan. CalvinAyre dubbed Georgia “the region’s Vegas,” which also draws a number of Arab and Israeli players.
Despite the inflow of tax revenues from gaming—the casinos generated about 66 million lari (US$29 million) last year—not all Georgians are enthusiastic about the industry. The website EurasiaNet reports many residents are concerned about compulsive gamblers, both domestic and foreign, who have been known to panhandle for gambling money on the streets of Tbilisi’s Saburtalo neighborhood.
Ivanishvili, too, is concerned. He has proposed stricter regulations for the gaming industry and would prefer that young people be barred from entering and playing in Batumi’s casinos.
Turkey’s populist Labor Party has made closing the casinos part of its campaign platform, and the Georgian Orthodox Church also has been outspoken in its opposition to gambling.
