"Mifal Hapayis has monopolistic power on games of luck and gambling, and as such we must act to have a casino in Israel set up by us - only us. Despite our monopoly, we find ourselves on the defensive, due to the wave of illegal gambling and casinos operating in Israel and vicinity," said Mifal Hapayis general manager Yaakov Bardugo.
Bardugo added that "the time is approaching when Israel will be obliged to set up a legal casino, and we must use all our monopolistic power to ensure that Mifal Hapayis will set it up and manage it."
Bardugo spoke at a special meeting held recently by the Mifal Hapayis board of directors on the subject of establishing a casino in Israel.
The illegal gambling industry in Israel was reviewed in depth at the meeting, in which the fear was voiced that the stand by Israeli political parties, religious circles and other entities that oppose the establishment of a casino in the face of private gambling houses and the casino set up by the Palestinian Authority in Jericho, was liable to harm Mifal Hapayis revenues.
Chairman Avraham Katz-Oz brought to the meeting a review of the subject and the stand of Mifal Hapayis regarding the setting up of a casino in Israel. According to Katz-Oz’s report, eight casino ships are operating in the Eilat area with an estimated annual turnover of $60-$120 million.
Katz-Oz claimed that a whole auxiliary industry has developed around the ships, comprising entirely black money, unreported and unevaluated by the income tax authorities.
Katz-Oz said Haifa and the Straits, Tel Aviv, Eilat, Beer Sheva and the north are the main centers for illegal gambling, card games, roulette, electronic slot machines, etc.
Moreover, illegal lottery games operate around the country. He estimated that illegal gambling in Israel amounts to NIS 1.5 billion. In addition, he estimates that Israelis spend NIS 1.5 billion on gambling in casinos overseas.
Published by Israel's Business Arena August 24, 1998