After Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently broached the subject of licensing casinos in the Red Sea city of Eilat, a delegation of Israelis is to visit Las Vegas. Gaming legislation is a project of a combined team from the Ministries of Finance, Justice and Tourism, and a Casino Law is expected to be presented for approval by the end of this year so that construction could begin in 2006.

The delegation is to meet gaming industry chiefs, the Mayor of Las Vegas and University of Nevada Gambling Faculty members. It will not only be the casinos themselves that are of interest to the Israelis. Methods of dealing with traffic, law enforcement and social effects will all be under the spotlight to help educate the delegation on how to proceed with their casino plans.

Back home there is already opposition to the idea of legalizing casinos. The National Religious Party has stated that a casino would ruin thousands of lives and contradicts Jewish values. Before the border with Palestine was closed, thousands of Israelis would gamble at the casino in Jericho, and may soon do so again when the border reopens.

The visit to the world’s gambling capital is intended to smooth the path to successful casino legislation in Israel, where it is hoped that the establishment of legal casinos would greatly reduce the incidence of illegal gambling. Casinos in Israel should also be a good additional revenue source for the government.
(E-05.23.05)

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