Dubai Tourism Chief Claims City Won’t Become Gaming Destination, Despite MGM and Caesars Projects
Dubai will soon 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 visiting the location.
Dubai houses the world’s building that is tallest and some of the most fascinating synthetic islands, but casinos will not presumably be coming anytime soon.
Gambling is considered ‚haram‘ under Islamic law: an activity that is forbidden goes against sacred texts present the Quran.
During an interview with Gulf News this week, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce CEO Issam Kazim was asked if there clearly was a growing appetite to welcome gambling enterprises to the city.
‚No, there isn’t a desire for casinos,‘ Kazim declared. ‚ We must bear in head that you will find cultural things that really are a concern to us.‘
Non-Gaming Horizons
MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, respectively rated number 2 and #5 when it comes 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 a running contract with Dubai-based Wasl Hospitality and Leisure to advise on the development of a location resort, and when completed in 2021, run its operations.
The 26-acre beachfront complex 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 manage and operate part of the $1.6 billion Bluewaters that is man-made Island. Caesars are responsible for hospitality and entertainment regarding the land that is artificial measures roughly 80 acres.
Caesars CEO Mark Frissora said the venture into Dubai is part of its post-bankruptcy concentrate on expanding to markets that are international lending the brand to hoteliers. Bob Morse, the company’s president of hospitality, stated its Bluewaters partners Meraas put any gambling talk ‚to rest very quickly.‘
Expanding Tourism
The biggest and many city that is populated the United Arab Emirates (UAE), over the last decade Dubai leaders have made an effort to become less reliant on oil. Expanding the tourism sector has been a center point, and billions of dollars have been invested, many of that are monies tied to your house of Al Falasi, the Dubai royal household.
Certainly one of the city’s main draws are the islands that are artificial within the Persian Gulf.
Dubai is now the sixth city that is most-visited the planet, in accordance with the planet Economic Forum. Nearly 15 million people checked out in 2017, lots that’s behind only Hong Kong, Bangkok, London, Singapore, plus the world’s richest gambling hub, Macau.
Dubai is thought to be a modern city, and contains eased some restrictions about what’s otherwise considered haram vices. Adult non-Muslims are permitted to take alcohol in licensed venues typically present in city resorts.
But gambling — often included on https://gamblingprofessors.com/tr/ so-called ’sin industry‘ listings, along with alcohol, tobacco, weapons production, and products that are sex-related; is not likely to be coming to Dubai any time in the future, 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 locale that is most-visited the globe.
Shocker, Not: Nevada Most Gambling-Addicted State, Study Reveals
Nevada is America’s most gambling-addicted state, based on a new study conducted by WalletHub.com, an online personal finance internet site. It’s possibly the least study that is surprising since the one that showed that more than 50 percent of teens are hooked on their mobile phones.
Nevada holds the record for the most addicted gamblers, a study that is new. With no one is surprised. (Image: File/Getty)
Which should come as little shock, nevertheless the positioning of various other states within the study results could be worthy of several raised eyebrows.
In its third year evaluating which US states are the many dependent on taking chances with their funds the old-fashioned way, WalletHub says it studied 19 key metric indicators to find out where extortionate gambling is most commonplace.
The evaluation considered two areas that are main ‚gambling friendliness‘ (a quotient that combined a variety of video gaming factors for each 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 grownups with gambling disorders and parallel available number of behavioral counselors.
Nevada topped record on most gambling-addicted states with a score that is total of. It ranked first in gambling friendliness, and 10th in gambling treatment and problem.
Nevada gets the most casinos and gaming devices per capita, and rate that is fifth-highest of addiction.
One may suspect New Jersey or Pennsylvania to come next, but that ‚honor‘ goes to South Dakota, which scored 53.1. Rounding out the top five most states that are gambling-addicted Montana (52.9), Mississippi (51.8), and Louisiana (44.7).
Four of the top five are repeat offenders. Louisiana may be the latest entry, 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 creates the second-most gaming that is gross revenue behind only Nevada — placed #27 on final years WalletHub list. But utilizing the Keystone State in the process of further expanding its commercial industry with as much as 10 new satellite casinos, along with impending on line gambling and day-to-day dream activities, 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 nj fell two spots to #8. The Garden State ranks 2nd in gambling treatment and problem, with nearly three per cent of most adults recognized as have a gambling disorder.
Implications of Legal Sports Betting
Much of the US will dsicover their ‚gambling friendliness‘ score increase, should recreations betting be legalized for all 50 states. The Supreme Court is expected to soon hand straight down its opinion on the present federal ban that prohibits the experience in all but four states.
WalletHub asked five behavioral and psychology experts whether sports betting should be permitted at the level that is federal. All five said it will, with all the general opinion that eliminating unregulated illegal offshore and underground sportsbooks is in the interest that is best of both consumers and the gaming industry.
‚ The main reason that states want gambling is money. You will want to make sports betting legal? Gamblers will gamble anyway,‘ Indiana University Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences Professor Emeritus Jim Sherman noted.
as 20 states would be likely 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 day that is very the Horseshoe Southern Indiana was provided authorization by the Indiana Gaming Commission to move its operations onto dry land, hundreds of miles south the Louisiana Senate was approving a bill that would additionally propel its own riverboat gambling enterprises onto terra firma.
State Senator Ronnie Johns believes Louisiana riverboat casinos should be allowed to come onto dry land after 25 years within the beverage. He desires to modernize hawaii’s casino industry so that it can compete using its next-door neighbors. (Image: Sarah Camard/Gambit Weekly)
The Louisiana Senate voted 22-14 to pass State Senator Ronnie Johns‘ (R-Lake Charles) SB316, which may permit the state’s 15 riverboat casinos to make the evolutionary leap, provided all gambling activities are conducted within 1,200 feet of their licensed berths.
Johns‘ bill would also remove a quirky statute from Louisiana gamble law that calls for each facility to have a paddle wheel that is operational.
Horseshoe Gets Lucky
Indiana passed a similar bill in 2015, and not a moment too quickly for the Horseshoe which has been shut down on at least five occasions as a result of the flooding of the Ohio river where this has been permanently docked since its establishment in 1998. The absolute most closure that is recent in February, at great cost to the state.
The Indiana regulator on Tuesday approved a $85 million facility that is land-based should that be ‚above-land-based facility,‘ 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 your 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.‘
Evolution or expansion?
A lot of the debate in Louisiana, meanwhile, was whether Johns‘ bill constituted expansion that is gambling since it proposes reworking the cap on casino floor space. The limit that is current of square legs would be changed by a cap on gambling positions or the amount of seats in front of slots at 2,365.
Johns said his bill would modernize the state’s creaking casino sector, allowing it to incorporate bigger slots utilizing the cutting-edge technology that is latest, which will help it to deflect competition from the casinos of Oklahoma and Mississippi.
State Senator Danny Martiny (R-Dist. 10) agreed, and berated senators that are fellow thought otherwise.
We’ve got a business that is supplying us with income, thank God,‘ Martiny said. ‚Everybody that is against it, sure doesn’t shy away from coming to Appropriations and asking for some of that cash.