Finance Minister: Israel Will Not Build Casinos On My Watch

REUTERS/BOBBY YIP
REUTERS/BOBBY YIP

The Times of Israel reports: Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon on Wednesday lashed out at the legal gambling industry and vowed that so long as he controlled the treasury, no casino would be built in Israel.

The finance minister spoke at a press conference as he accepted a special committee report on the government-supervised gambling industry, which recommended a ban on betting machines and gambling on horse races.

In his remarks, Kahlon called money earned through gambling “dirty” money and said, “People need this money to buy food for their children.”

Kahlon also dismissed outright the idea of building a casino in Israel to attract tourists. “As long as I am Finance Minister, there will be no casino in Israel,” he pledged.

Legalized gambling in Israel is run by two bodies — Toto, responsible for sports gambling, and Mifal HaPayis, which oversees lotteries, scratch cards and gambling machines.

Gambling machines were first introduced by Mifal HaPayis in 2005.

Read more here.

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