Casino in Israel should serve tourists and Israelis, official testifies

Misezhnikov favors placing the casino in Eilat, Arad, Yeruham or the Dead Sea area.

"The Tourism Ministry, and I as tourism minister, support the establishment of a casino in southern Israel, which will serve not only tourists but also Israel's residents," the minister told the Knesset's Economic Affairs Committee last week, as he presented his ministry's activities in the past year and its future plans.

Egyptian upheaval far from over but it seems Israelis have already put it all behind them as they once again flock to casinos. 'After realizing casino was open we were pleasantly surprised by wonderful way we were treated,' says one tourist
 
During the discussion and the minister's presentation, which focused on solutions for the Dead Sea, Tamar Regional Council head Dov Litvinoff suggested building a casino in the Dead Sea area to fund the regional development. The discussion quickly shifted to the question of whether Israel should have a casino.

The tourism minister noted that his ministry was in favor of building a casino in Eilat, Arad, Yeruham or the Dead Sea area. Knesset Member Carmel Shama-Hacohen (Likud), chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee, warned that a casino could lead to negative phenomenon like gambling addiction and that Israel's access to the casino would have to be limited.

Misezhnikov responded that studies conducted in the past have all been in favor of building a casino in Israel. "We can't set up a casino for tourists only and separate between the tourists and the locals," the minister said. "If the Israeli can't enter, they'll continue traveling abroad to gamble, and the State will lose millions of shekels in income."

And yet, Misezhnikov did not say how he plans to promote the casino's establishment – an issue which has been discussed in the past 20 years by every single tourism minister and different finance ministers.