Israel’s Tourism Minister Yariv Levin has met with government officials to look at options for setting up a casino complex in the southern port city of Eilat, with the hope of presenting a viable plan to the government later this year.
Members of a committee tasked with reviewing the establishment of casinos in Israel attended the meeting, including the directors of the Prime Minister’s Office and the Finance Ministry, Eilat Mayor Meir Yitzhak Halevi and other top officials from government ministries.
The aim of the committee is to produce within three months a memorandum for a bill to set up a hotel-casino area in Eilat, Army Radio reported, based on a document it said was circulated within the government. Casinos are illegal in Israel and sports betting sports betting services are only allowed via Mifal HaPayis, the national lottery organisation.
“This is an essential process. Eilat can’t compete in the world of tourism without at least new hotels,” Levin told the radio station. “The casino isn’t the goal - it’s the means.”
