Dubai Tourism Chief Says City Won’t Become Gaming Destination, Despite MGM and Caesars Projects
Dubai will quickly become home to hotel properties branded by MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, but area officials say cannot get the wrong concept: casinos and gambling are not coming to the spot.
Dubai is home to the world’s building that is tallest plus some of the most fascinating artificial islands, but casinos won’t presumably be coming anytime soon.
Gambling is considered ‘haram’ under Islamic law: an activity that is forbidden goes against sacred texts found in the Quran.
During an meeting with Gulf News this week, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce CEO Issam Kazim was asked if there was a growing appetite to welcome gambling enterprises to the city.
‘No, there is not a desire for casinos,’ Kazim declared. ‘ We have to bear in brain that there are cultural items that really are a priority to us.’
Non-Gaming Horizons
MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, correspondingly rated #2 and #5 with regards to gross gaming revenue of the world’s casino operators, are starting the center East for the time that is first way of Dubai.
In March 2017, MGM reached an operating contract with Dubai-based Wasl Hospitality and Leisure to advise on the development of a destination resort, and when completed in 2021, run its operations.
The beachfront that is 26-acre will feature the MGM resort, MGM Residences, and Bellagio Hotel.
Previously this month, Caesars Entertainment announced a partnership with Meraas, additionally a Dubai development firm, to handle and operate part of the $1.6 billion man-made Bluewaters Island. Caesars is responsible for hospitality and entertainment regarding the artificial land that measures roughly 80 acres.
Caesars CEO Mark Frissora said the venture into Dubai is section of its post-bankruptcy give attention to expanding to international markets and lending the brand to hoteliers. Bob Morse, the company’s president of hospitality, stated its Bluewaters partners Meraas put any gambling talk ‘to rest really quickly.’
Expanding Tourism
The largest and many populated town in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), over the last decade Dubai leaders have made an endeavor to become less reliant on oil. Expanding the tourism sector happens to be a focal point, and billions of dollars have actually been invested, a lot of which are monies associated with the House of Al Falasi, the Dubai family that is royal.
Certainly one of the town’s main draws are the islands that are artificial within the Persian Gulf.
Dubai is now the sixth most-visited town in the entire world, in accordance with the World Economic Forum. Nearly 15 million individuals checked out in 2017, a number that’s behind only Hong Kong, Bangkok, London, Singapore, and also the world’s gambling hub that is richest, Macau.
Dubai is thought to be a city that is progressive and has now eased some restrictions on what’s otherwise considered haram vices. Adult non-Muslims are permitted to take alcohol in licensed venues typically found in city resorts.
But gambling — usually included on so-called ‘sin industry’ lists, along with alcohol, tobacco, weapons production, and sex-related products — is not likely to be coming to Dubai any time soon, if ever.
However, city officials in Dubai have an ambitious goal of inviting 20 million tourists per year by 2020, which would make it the third most-visited locale in the globe.
Shocker, Not: Nevada Most Gambling-Addicted State, Learn Reveals
Nevada is America’s most gambling-addicted state, in accordance with a new study conducted by WalletHub.com, an online personal finance site. It’s probably the least study that is surprising since the one that showed that more than 50 percent of teens are addicted to their cellular devices.
Nevada holds the record for the many addicted gamblers, a study that is new. With no one is surprised. (Image: File/Getty)
Which should come as surprise that is little however the placement of some other states into the study results could be worthy of a few raised eyebrows.
The old-fashioned way, WalletHub says it studied 19 key metric indicators to determine where excessive gambling is most prevalent in its third year evaluating which US states are the most addicted to taking chances with their money.
The evaluation considered two main areas, ‘gambling friendliness’ (a quotient that combined a number of gaming factors for every state) and ‘gambling issue and treatment.’ The weighted groups included factors such as for example the quantity of commercial and tribal gambling enterprises per capita, and percentage of adults with gambling disorders and parallel number that is available of counselors.
Nevada topped the list of all gambling-addicted states with a score that is total of. It rated first in gambling friendliness, and 10th in gambling treatment and problem.
Nevada gets the most casinos and gaming machines per capita, and fifth-highest rate of gambling addiction.
One may suspect nj-new Jersey or Pennsylvania in the future next, but that ‘honor’ goes to South Dakota, which scored 53.1. Rounding out of the top five many states that are gambling-addicted Montana (52.9), Mississippi (51.8), and Louisiana (44.7).
Four of the top five are repeat offenders. Louisiana is the entry that is newest, up from # 9 in 2017, while West Virginia (#5 in 2017), dropped back once again to no. 6 this season.
Listing Up and Down
Pennsylvania — which produces the second-most gross gaming casino revenue behind only Nevada — placed #27 on last years WalletHub list. But because of the Keystone State in the process of further expanding its commercial industry with as much as 10 satellite that is new, along with impending online gambling and daily fantasy sports, and slots inside truck stops and airport video gaming lounges, Pennsylvania has surged a dozen spots, up to #15.
Illinois was another mover-upper, going from #18 in 2017 to #9 on this year’s list. No state has more gambling-related arrests per capita, according to WalletHub though Illinois ranks 25th in gaming machines per capita and 21st in lottery sales.
Atlantic City’s New Jersey dropped two spots to #8. The Garden State ranks second in gambling treatment and problem, with nearly three % of most adults recognized as have a gambling disorder.
Implications of Legal Sports Betting
Much of the US will discover their ‘gambling friendliness’ score increase, should activities betting be legalized for all 50 states. The Supreme Court is expected to soon hand its opinion down on the current federal ban that prohibits the game in every but four states.
WalletHub asked five behavioral and psychology experts whether sports betting should be allowed at the level that is federal. All five said it should, because of the general viewpoint that eliminating unregulated illegal offshore and underground sportsbooks is within the interest that is best of both consumers and the gaming industry.
‘ The reason that is main states want gambling is money. Why not make sports wagering legal? Gamblers will gamble anyway,’ Indiana University Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences Professor Emeritus Jim Sherman noted.
as 20 states would be expected to pass recreations gambling laws in the coming years should SCOTUS repeal the ban that is federal.
Land in Sight for Louisiana Riverboat Casinos as State Senate Passes ‘River to Shore’ Bill
On Tuesday, the very day that the Horseshoe Southern Indiana was issued permission by the Indiana Gaming Commission to go its operations onto dry land, hundreds of miles south the Louisiana Senate ended up being approving a bill that would also propel its own riverboat casinos onto terra firma.
State Senator Ronnie Johns believes Louisiana riverboat casinos should be permitted to come onto dry land after 25 years within the drink. He would like to modernize their state’s casino industry so it can compete with its next-door neighbors. (Image: Sarah Camard/Gambit Weekly)
The Louisiana Senate voted 22-14 to pass through State Senator Ronnie Johns’ (R-Lake Charles) SB316, which may allow the state’s 15 riverboat casinos to make the leap that is evolutionary provided all gambling activities are conducted within 1,200 foot of their licensed berths.
Johns’ bill would also remove a quirky statute from Louisiana gamble law that requires each facility to have a paddle wheel that is operational.
Horseshoe Gets Lucky
Indiana passed a similar bill in 2015, and not just a minute too quickly for the Horseshoe which has been turn off on at minimum five occasions because of the flooding of the Ohio river where it’s been permanently docked since its establishment in 1998. The most closure that is recent in February, at great cost to their state.
The Indiana regulator on Tuesday approved a $85 million facility that is land-based should that be ‘above-land-based center,’ because the Caesars-owned casino will be slightly elevated to negate the risk of flooding.
‘This task further shows our continued enthusiasm for and commitment to the state,’ said Brad Siegel, senior vice president at the Horseshoe. ‘We appreciate the Commission’s decision today and appear ahead to continuing our positive working relationships at the State and local level.’
Expansion or Evolution?
Much of the debate in Louisiana, meanwhile, was whether Johns’ bill constituted gambling expansion, since it proposes reworking the cap on casino floor space. The limit that is current of square foot would be changed by a cap on gambling positions or the amount of seats in front side of slots at 2,365 1xspor.
Johns said his bill would modernize their state’s creaking casino sector, enabling it to incorporate bigger slots aided by the cutting-edge technology that is latest, which can only help it to deflect competition from the casinos of Oklahoma and Mississippi.
State Senator Danny Martiny (R-Dist. 10) agreed, and berated fellow senators who thought otherwise.
We’ve got a market that’s providing us with income, thank God,’ Martiny stated. ‘Everybody that is against it, sure doesn’t shy far from coming to Appropriations and asking for some of that cash.
