Israel aims to ban gambling machines and horse race betting by next year

Israel’s finance minister vows no horse racing or slot machines

 Renee Kingsley

 

 August 7, 2016

 

 Gaming Law & Legislation, Horse Racing, Israel, Latest Casino and Gambling News

The finance minister of Israel, Moshe Kahlon stated that he will not permit horse racing and slot machines as long as he remains the country’s finance minister. Kahlon made the statement after reviewing a comprehensive report submitted by a special committee headed by Emi Palmor, director general of the Justice Ministry and Shay Babad, director general, Treasury. The committee conducted a review on the professional, structural and legal aspects of the legalized gambling industry in Israel and how it could reduce the negative impact of gambling.

The report stated that the growth of Israel’s gambling industry must be curtailed as it would increase problem gambling and also pushed for more regulations to be imposed on Toto, the Sports betting council and Mifal Hapayis, which are the two state run betting monopolies. The committee report recommended that horse racing and slot machines continue to be forbidden in Israel, allotting 20 million shekels each year to continue the fight against illegal gambling, look into reducing the operating costs at Mifal Hapayis and Toto, forbid all forms of “addictive games” and increase taxes on winnings.

The committee also put forth suggestions on how a further 1.5 billion shekels can be generated from the gambling industry during the next couple of years. The finance minister was against introducing slot machines as he felt that it generated funds for the government by taking money out of the poor.

In a statement, Kahlon said “This money is tainted, and we don’t want it. It’s no coincidence that on the 28th of the month, the day people receive stipends, Mifal Hapayis revenues rise dramatically. There won’t be any slot machines or horse races in Israel starting next year. As long as I am finance minister, there won’t be a casino in Israel.”

The recommendations from the committee are aimed at reducing the negative impact of the legalized gambling industry, moderating its growth and cutting down operational costs in order to use that extra money for the good of the public. Ayelet Shaked, the Justice Minister also reviewed the report and stated that betting was an addictive illusion of a better future. The minister stated that she will see if she can introduce the report into legislation.

Israel’s legalized gambling market has grown at a rate of 10 percent over the last five years and the committee proposes to limit its growth to around 2.7 percent each year. Both Mifal Hapayis and Toto have been asked to reduce their costs by 2 percent in 2017 by cutting down on advertising costs, reducing franchise sales commissions and introducing a new model on how franchises are to be paid.

The committee wants the enforcement industry to receive an additional 20 million shekels in order to crackdown on the illegal gambling industry in Israel which is estimated to be in the range of 10-15 billion shekels per year, which around 1 percent of the country’s GDP.

https://news.worldcasinodirectory.com/israels-finance-minister-vows-no-horse-racingor-slot-machines-32235

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Israel aims to ban gambling machines and horse race betting by next year Gaming Intelligence A wide-ranging report on gambling in Israel submitted to Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon has recommended an outright bans on slot machines and ...

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Israel's finance minister vows no horse racing or slot machines World Casino Directory The finance minister of Israel, Moshe Kahlon stated that he will not permit horse racing and slot machinesas long as he remains the country's finance ... Israel Says No To Expansion of Gambling Industry - Online Poker.net Full Coverage

NO CASINO BROCKTON! JAN 28TH

No Casino in Brockton shared their event.

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1st opportunity for residents of surrounding communities & Brockton to voice opinions!

28

JAN

Massachusetts Gaming Commission Public Hearing

Tomorrow 4 PM · Holbrook Junior-Senior High School, 245 S. Franklin Street, Holbrook.

by No Casino in
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No to Brockton casino

The YouTube video below is of REVEL, the twice bankrupt Mega Monster in Atlantic City that CLOSED:






Why would Massachusetts believe it is 'DIFFERENT' and exempt from the problems experienced elsewhere with Predatory Gambling?

DONNA LEWIS, Brockton: No to Brockton casino

Posted Apr. 27, 2015 at 12:01 AM
Updated at 7:17 AM 

I vote no for a casino in Brockton. I believe it will cause more violence, poverty and hungry, homeless children. Why bring another addiction into this already addicted city.

Can't Mayor Bill Carpenter and other city officials figure another more productive way to bring revenue and jobs to Brockton? Ways to not encourage more crime?

DONNA LEWIS

Brockton

http://www.enterprisenews.com/article/20150427/OPINION/304289999/1007/OPINION

COLLEEN ROBERTS, Brockton: Casino isn’t the right solution for Brockton

Posted Apr. 22, 2015 at 8:54 PM
Updated Apr 22, 2015 at 8:57 PM 

In regards to the proposed casino here in Brockton, I’d like to express my strong no vote (“Brockton casino proposal coming down to ‘yes’ or ‘no,’” April 15).

I don’t believe a casino is the answer to the many needs the city of Brockton has. As residents of the city since 1983 and having raised our children here, my husband and I have a deep concern about the city’s future. The bright picture that the gaming company and Mayor Bill Carpenter are painting has a dark underbelly that will suck the life out of our city.

When I was growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, at one point my family lived near a horse racing track. My father gambled, (mostly poker), but he also delved into the ponies. One payday he lost his entire check and we had an empty refrigerator. Imagine that happening thousands of times over when hardworking people hope for riches and end up in rags.

The gaming company is out to make the owners wealthy, not the residents of Brockton and the surrounding towns. I believe that the cities and towns around casinos do not prosper and that gambling invites more crime. As if we don’t have enough drugs, gang activity, prostitution, murders and other crimes of our own to deal with! Our children and young people deserve better than this.

The gaming company will promise the world to get a foothold in Brockton. I don’t believe the company will deliver on any of it. The casino will come, make its millions, and leave our city worse off.

There is a better way to change our beloved Brockton into the kind of city families will flock to.

http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20150422/OPINION/150428366/2014/OPINION



Harrah's [now Caesars, the bankrupt disaster]] determined that 90% of their profits came from 10% of their patrons, a fact they have never disputed. 
That's GAMBLING ADDICTION! 

The Gambling Industry exists only by creating NEW Gambling Addicts. 

Studies have determined that proximity increases GAMBLING ADDICTION - the closer a Slot Barn is to you, the more likely you'll GAMBLE, the more likely you or someone you know will become a GAMBLING ADDICT.

When a public hearing was conducted in Raynham, no single person asked questions about Parx Gambling operation in Pennsylvania. 

In 2011, I posted this: 
Parx: The McDonald's of Gambling Addiction and Child Abandonment 

Parx, an indistinguishable Slot Barn, has become the poster child for Child Abandonment..... 

Parx is only casino with child-abandonment problem..... 

"You said 150 to 200 times a year," he repeated. "That's three to four times a week, essentially." 

"Yes," Jonas confirmed, most of his players fit that profile. In fact, because Parx players tend to live within 20 miles of Street Road, many go even more frequently. 

"We have customers," Jonas boasted, "who give us $25, $30 five times a week." 

At the end of the Yellow Brick Road, there is NO Wizard and no Magic Formula for politicians bereft of ideas who allow themselves to be dazzled by false promises

New Hampshire: Letters/Calls Needed: NH Sen. Jerry Little wavering on casinos

Call Send SMS Add to Skype You'll need Skype CreditFree via Skype

Good Afternoon:

Thanks to your help, we've made some progress. From the questions he was asking at last week's hearing, it was clear that Senator Feltes was listening to our arguments. Thank you for your efforts to contact him.

But unfortunately, we've been handed another challenge. Senator Gerald "Jerry" Little took over for Senator Bob Odell in NH's 8th Senate District. On his website, Senator Little states:
"I do not support expanded gaming in New Hampshire."
But in last week's InterTown Record, Senator Little said in a meeting with local veterans,
"I told them that I didn't care for the idea, but that for a number of reasons, I'm worried about our ability to fund state government and, since I like tax increases even less, I am keeping an open mind about the casino legislation."

Because the vote is so close in the Senate, I urge constituents in his towns -- I'm one of them -- to contact him today or tomorrow to urge him to not change his stance on expanded gambling!
Senate District 8 includes: Acworth; Antrim; Bennington; Bradford; Croydon; Deering; Francestown; Goshen; Grantham; Hillsborough; Langdon; Lempster; Marlow; New London; Newbury; Newport; Springfield; Stoddard; Sunapee; Sutton; Unity; Washington; Weare; and Windsor.

The constituents in Hillsborough, Francetown, Bennington, Antrim, Deering, Weare, Windsor and Washington will all be within the 50 mile addiction zone of the proposed Salem casino AND a second proposed casino at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. New London, Sutton, and Sunapee will be in the 50-mile range of NH Motor Speedway. Senator Little's own town of Weare is closest and caught right in the crossfire from two casinos.

District 8 constituents, I urge you to contact Senator Little immediately. The Senate vote is imminent. His information is below.

Sen. Jerry Little 603-271-4151
Jerry.Little@leg.state.nh.us
NH State House, Rm 105-A
107 N. Main Street
Concord, NH 03301

Need some facts to include? Visit Casino Free NH's research page for lots reasons why NH needs to resist what one of our spokesmen, Steve Duprey, calls the "crack cocaine" of state funding.

Your words are POWERFUL. Thank you!

Brian Beihl, Field Organizer
Casino Free NH &
Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling

Join our Facebook Page!

Our mailing address is: Casino Free New Hampshire 2 Eagle Square, Concord, NH, United States Concord, NH 03301

N.H. lawmakers consider new casino bill




Tom Boucher: Would a NH casino do any good for local businesses? 
By TOM BOUCHER                           

WITH YET ANOTHER push from gaming advocates looking to bring a casino (now two) into New Hampshire, Granite Staters are weighing the positives and negatives of legalizing casino gambling.

To those people on the casino fence, I'd like to offer a point of consideration, "What good would a casino do for your business or the business for which you work?"

Research shows that most casino revenue comes from people who live within a 30-mile radius of a casino.

Let's imagine that you are an owner of a business in Greater Manchester and a casino opens in Salem.

I'd like you to try to think of a positive outcome that casino could provide for your business. Or imagine you are an employee of that business; how would a casino benefit your employment?

For those of you who thought, "Well, it will bring people to New Hampshire, where they will subsequently spend more money in surrounding businesses," you have been severely misled. Casinos have a marvelous ability to lure people and their money in, and let nothing escape.

I am not anti-gambling, and in fact I have visited many casinos. But I've never once left a casino, gotten into my car and visited another restaurant or business in that area after spending my time and money in the casino itself.

This is the true issue. The discretionary income that patrons spend at a casino is diverted from other businesses in the local economy.What some think is a profitable plan at the state level is a complete net zero.

In fact, I would argue it's worse than that because the profits from a casino are not reinvested and circulated into the local economy and other businesses.

It's estimated that the State of New Hampshire takes in about 15 percent of its revenue through taxes and other income sources that are directly related to businesses in the lodging and restaurant industries.

These taxes include, but aren't limited to, meals and rental taxes, liquor purchase profits, local property taxes, business enterprise taxes and business profits taxes.

The revenue from these taxes and other income sources is more than $300 million per year to the state, again directly related to the lodging and restaurant industry. No other industry contributes this amount to the state coffers. Adding even one casino to the mix will certainly dip deeply into this number.

Discretionary spending in Greater Manchester or southern New Hampshire will not increase with the legalization of casino gambling. It will simply be displaced.

Spending at casinos means less spending at local restaurants and businesses.

By taxing casino revenue, the state is simply taxing the same money that would have been spent elsewhere.

The major difference is that money spent by the public at local restaurants and other businesses is circulated back into the economy.

Money spent at casinos is lost to the black hole that is major gambling corporations.

As the owner and CEO of Great NH Restaurants (T-BONES, Cactus Jack's and Copper Door) and a board member of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, supporting restaurants and local businesses is of high importance to me and, I believe, to the state.

However, restaurants aren't the only business that would be substantially affected by casinos in New Hampshire.Entertainment venues across the state will be every bit as impacted as local restaurants and small businesses within a casino's immediate region.

A casino steals their revenue simply by stealing entertainment acts.

For example, venues like the Verizon Wireless Arena or the Capitol Center for the Arts won't be able to compete for acts because they do not have the offsetting slot profits that a casino would have. Casinos can pay more for entertainment than private industry can.

And again, the magic of casinos is to keep patrons in-house. Catching a concert at a casino means people will be eating at whatever restaurant the casino has to offer.

Local entertainment venues, however, lend themselves to a symbiotic relationship with local restaurants, which in a city like Manchester or Concord help to fuel the economy.

These points are sufficient reasons for New Hampshire to abstain from the expanded gaming industry, but to add insult to injury, we as businesses are being sold more smoke and mirrors.

Businesses should not be duped into thinking that they will receive reduced business taxes if casinos are brought into the state.

Any claim that casino revenue will be used to offset or reduce the business enterprise tax, business profit tax, or anything of the like is completely unfounded.

There is nothing in any bill that promises business tax relief in perpetuity, and it would not be credible if it did.

If a casino did come with a promise to reduce business taxes, any Legislature at any point could change that promise and New Hampshire would still be stuck with one or two casinos taking valuable discretionary dollars out of our economy.

What is most important to realize is that if we ever legalize casino gambling, we're in it for good.

There is no backing up.

And for casino proponents to attempt to convince that state that there will only be one or two casinos is downright irresponsible. No state in this country has adopted expanded gambling and stayed at one casino.

The bill writers may say one thing, but history says otherwise.

As past chairman of the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurants Association, as well as a director of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, both of which have opposed casino legislation in the past, I encourage local business owners to consider the consequences of legalizing casino gambling in New Hampshire.

Once again, ask yourself this question:

"What good would a casino do for my business or the business I work for?"The answer is likely to be: "Nothing."

Tom Boucher is owner and CEO of Great NH Restaurants. He is a member of the board of directors of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and former chairman of the board of the NH Lodging and Restaurant Association.

- See more at: http://www.unionleader.com/article/20150222/OPINION02/150229834#sthash.ypq7GLFy.dpuf