Dubai Tourism Chief Says City Won’t Become Gaming Destination, Despite MGM and Caesars Projects

Dubai will quickly become house to hotel properties branded by MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, but area officials say do not obtain the wrong idea: casinos and gambling aren’t coming to the spot.

Dubai houses the world’s tallest building plus some of the most fascinating synthetic islands, but casinos won’t presumably be coming anytime soon.

Gambling is considered ‘haram’ under Islamic law: a forbidden activity that goes against sacred texts present the Quran.

This week, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce CEO Issam Kazim was asked if there was a growing appetite to welcome casinos to the city during an interview with Gulf News.

‘No, there is not a desire for casinos,’ Kazim declared. ‘ We need to bear in head that you can find cultural items that are a definite concern to us.’

Non-Gaming Horizons

MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, correspondingly rated # 2 and #5 when it comes to gross gaming revenue of the planet’s casino operators, are starting the Middle East for the time that is first way of Dubai.

In March 2017, MGM reached a working contract with Dubai-based Wasl Hospitality and Leisure to advise on the growth of a location resort, and as soon as completed in 2021, run its operations.

The 26-acre beachfront complex will feature the MGM Hotel, MGM Residences, and Bellagio Hotel.

Early in the day this month, Caesars Entertainment announced a partnership with Meraas, also a Dubai development firm, to manage and run part of the $1.6 billion Bluewaters that is man-made Island. Caesars are going to be responsible for hospitality and entertainment on the land that is artificial measures roughly 80 acres.

Caesars CEO Mark Frissora stated the venture into Dubai is section of its post-bankruptcy consider expanding to international areas and lending the brand to hoteliers. Bob Morse, the company’s president of hospitality, said its Bluewaters partners Meraas put any gambling talk ‘to rest very quickly.’

Expanding Tourism

The largest and most city that is populated the United Arab Emirates (UAE), over the last decade Dubai leaders have actually made an effort to become less reliant on oil. Expanding the tourism sector happens to be a focal point, and billions of dollars have actually been invested, lots of that are monies linked with your house of Al Falasi, the Dubai family that is royal.

One of the city’s main draws are the islands that are artificial into the Persian Gulf.

Dubai is today the sixth most-visited city in the planet, based on the entire world Economic Forum. Nearly 15 million people visited in 2017, a number that’s behind only Hong Kong, Bangkok, London, Singapore, while the world’s richest gambling hub, Macau.

Dubai is considered to be a city that is progressive and contains eased some restrictions about what’s otherwise considered haram vices. Adult non-Muslims are permitted to consume liquor in licensed venues typically found in city resorts.

But gambling — frequently included on so-called ‘sin industry’ lists, along with alcohol, tobacco, weapons manufacturing, and products that are sex-related; is unlikely 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 3rd locale that is most-visited the world.

Shocker, Not: Nevada Most Gambling-Addicted State, Research Reveals

Nevada is America’s most gambling-addicted state, in accordance with a new study conducted by WalletHub.com, an online finance website that is personal. It’s most likely the least surprising study results since one which showed that more than 50 percent of teenagers are hooked on their cellular devices.

Nevada holds the record for the most addicted gamblers, a brand new study programs. And no one is surprised. (Image: File/Getty)

That should come as little shock, but the positioning of several other states into the study results might be worthy of a few elevated eyebrows.

In its third year evaluating which US states will be the many addicted to taking chances with their funds the old-fashioned method, WalletHub says it learned 19 key metric indicators to determine where exorbitant gambling is most prevalent.

The evaluation considered two areas that are main ‘gambling friendliness’ (a quotient that combined a variety of video gaming factors for every single state) and ‘gambling problem and treatment.’ The weighted categories included factors such as for example the amount of commercial and tribal casinos per capita, and portion of adults 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 gambling enterprises and gaming machines per capita, and rate that is fifth-highest of addiction.

One might suspect New Jersey or Pennsylvania to come 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 could be the newest entry, up from #9 in 2017, while West Virginia (#5 in 2017), dropped back in to # 6 this present year.

Detailing Down And Up

Pennsylvania — which yields the second-most gross gaming casino revenue behind only Nevada — put #27 on last years WalletHub list. But with the Keystone State in the process of further expanding its commercial industry with as many as 10 new satellite casinos, 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 had been another mover-upper, going from #18 in 2017 to #9 on this year’s list. Though Illinois ranks 25th in gaming machines per capita and 21st in lottery sales, no state has more gambling-related arrests per capita, according to WalletHub.

Atlantic City’s New Jersey fell gamblingprofessors.com two spots to #8. The Garden State ranks 2nd in gambling treatment and problem, with nearly three percent of all of the adults recognized as have a gambling disorder.

Implications of Legal Sports Betting

Much of the US will see their ‘gambling friendliness’ score increase, should sports betting be legalized for many 50 states. The Supreme Court is expected to soon hand down its viewpoint on the present federal ban that prohibits the experience in most but four states.

WalletHub asked five behavioral and psychology experts whether sports betting should be allowed at the federal level. All five said it will, aided by the basic viewpoint that eliminating unregulated illegal offshore and underground sportsbooks is within the most readily useful interest of both consumers and the gaming industry.

‘ The major reason that states want gambling is money. Why don’t you 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 expected to pass sports betting 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 had been provided permission by the Indiana Gaming Commission to move its operations onto dry land, hundreds of kilometers south the Louisiana Senate was approving a bill that would also 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 into the beverage. He wants to modernize hawaii’s casino industry so it can compete along with 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 will enable the state’s 15 riverboat casinos to make the evolutionary leap, supplied 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 center to have a functional paddle wheel.

Horseshoe Gets Lucky

Indiana passed a similar bill in 2015, and not a moment too quickly for the Horseshoe that has been turn off on at minimum five occasions due to the flooding of the Ohio river where it’s been permanently docked since its establishment in 1998. Probably the most closure that is recent in February, at great expense to their state.

The Indiana regulator on Tuesday approved a $85 million land-based center or should that be ‘above-land-based center,’ because the Caesars-owned casino will be slightly elevated to negate the possibility of flooding.

‘This task further demonstrates our continued enthusiasm for and commitment to your state,’ said Brad Siegel, senior vice president during the Horseshoe. ‘We appreciate the Commission’s decision today and look ahead to continuing our positive working relationships at the State and local level.’

Evolution or expansion?

Much 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 feet would be replaced by a limit on gambling positions or the amount of seats in front side of slots at 2,365.

Johns stated his bill would modernize their state’s creaking casino sector, permitting it to incorporate bigger slots with all 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) consented, and berated fellow senators who thought otherwise.

We’ve got an industry that’s providing us with income, thank Jesus,’ Martiny stated. ‘Everybody that is against it, sure doesn’t shy away from coming to Appropriations and asking for some of that cash.