Religious forces have stopped two casino campaigns in Jordan
Like Israel, which is considering legalizing casinos in the resort city of Eilat, Jordan too is looking at the industry as a potential new revenue source.
According to Inside Asian Gaming, Jordanian Vice Prime Minister Abu al-Ragheb says his government may lift the country’s ban on casino gaming and issue licenses for the port of Aqaba on the banks of the Red Sea, or similar tourist destinations. Speaking to the Amman Chamber of Industry, he said the economy in Jordan has suffered due to a flood of Syrian refugees entering the country, trying to flee the civil war in their own homeland.
However, the government of Jordan has OK’d casinos twice before, in 2003 and in 2007. Both times, opposition from religious leaders stopped the projects from proceeding.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports a plan that could bring from two to four casinos to Eilat, saying they could save the city from “economic failure” and create thousands of jobs. But there, too, religious factions have promised to fight the proposal, which could make it harder for the Knesset to support the plan. Even if the proposal moves forward, it could take from four to eight years draft the necessary laws and then build the casinos.
Netanyahu set up a steering committee headed by Tourism Minister Yariv Levin to explore the possibility of casinos in the southern resort city of Eilat, where tourism industry has plummeted by 40 percent in the last five years. Illegal gambling in Israel is thought to reap up to $380 million per year.
