The first casino to operate in Israel will open soon, since an agreement has been reached between the Israeli Minister of Tourism, Yitzhak Aharonovitch and the Israel Land Administration for the acquisition of almost twelve acres of land on the northeast coast of the country for the construction of the first legal casino in the country.

The casino will be part of a complex that will also have a conference center, malls and hotels. A reduction of illegal gambling – which is estimated to move over 3.600 million dollars a year - is expected thanks to the construction of this new complex.

At the same time, the government expects an improvement in the economy and tourism of Eliat, a city that has been loosing tourists lately because they prefer to go to neighboring cities that already have casinos, like Aqaba, Taba or Sharm el-Sheikh.

Israel expects a successful outcome with the opening of its first casino and that this will be just the first step for the construction of more gambling complexes. Minister Aharonovitch declared that Eliat’s casino is one of the main objectives the government set for this year and he showed a great amount of expectation regarding this ambitious project.