MENA REGION
There is actually precedent for the development of casinos on reclaimed land in the United Kingdom. Under the 1968 Gaming Act the 53 Permitted Areas for casinos were based on the boundaries of the former English and Welsh County Boroughs that contained an adult population of more than 125,000 in 1970. In Scotland the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, and Glasgow were added along with a number of seaside resorts whose population rose in the peak holiday months. Where County Boroughs had a boundary with the sea the extent of the Permitted Area extended to the low tide mean water mark (in other words it extended to include the beach down to the average low tide mark). In 1999 London Clubs International applied for a new casino licence for premises at the Marina in Brighton. The Marina had been constructed by Brent Walker, a company that then operated a number of UK casinos. The costs spiralled as the site was reclaimed from the sea and a tunnel had to be built through the cliffs to provide access from the town. The company collapsed and the casino development did not proceed when the Marina was initially developed. Among the matters that the Gaming Licensing Committee had to decide was whether the premises fell within the area of the court’s jurisdiction. The Committee ruled in exercising their discretion to grant the casino licence that sufficient of the premises was within the Permitted Area – albeit that the actual entrance to the casino was indeed on reclaimed land that was beyond the 1970 low tide mean water mark! A similar issue arose in Southampton in 2014 when the City Council held its competition to award a large casino licence. In that case part of the land on which the casino was to be constructed was in the River Solent adjacent to the Cruise Liner Terminal. Tidal river beds and harbours are in the main Crown Land and the authority was involved in complex negotiations to secure an interest in the land to enable a casino to be developed. The casino has still not been developed almost certainly because of the massive costs in reclaiming the land from the sea and re-locating the Red Funnel ferry port. There is no suggestion that the Ras Al Khaimah authorities have adopted the principle from UK law. Could it be argued that because the land on which the resort is to be constructed was not originally part of the Emirate there is some justification for the project as part of the wider plans to boost the tourist economy? If local nationals are to be prohibited from using the
gaming facilities then it would not appear possible for the open style nature of a Las Vegas Casino to be replicated. Almost certainly the minimum age for admission to a gaming area would be 21 given that is the age restriction for alcohol sales. There are still a lot of unanswered questions to be addressed including, as reported by the tourist authority, the cultural, ethical and religious views that have to be balanced against the tourist potential. Casinos in North African jurisdictions With the exception of Algeria and Libya, the North African countries that border the Mediterranean coast from Morocco in the west to Egypt in the east have permitted the development of casinos. Morocco has 12 or so casinos with the majority being situated in coastal resorts along the Atlantic coast but with two in Marrakech including Morocco’s first, the Casino de Marrakech, which opened in 1952. There are also two further casinos in the Muslim majority Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. There are casinos in Tunisia in two tourist destinations, Sousse and Djerba. The Grand Casino de Djerba is operated by the French casino operator Group Partouche. The best known casinos in the Middle East are those in Cairo and which are to be found in the major western operated hotels, including the Cairo Marriott, the Intercontinental, the Sheraton, the Caesars Casino in the Four Seasons, Accor’s Casino Barriere in the Sofitel, Crockfords Cairo operated in the Ritz Carlton by Genting and the famous London Club in the Ramses Hilton now operated by the Metropolitan Gaming Group. There are also casinos in the resorts of Sharm El Sheikh and Taba. Egyptian citizens are not permitted to gamble in casinos and foreign nationals have to provide their passports to gain entry. Additionally all gambling has to be conducted in US dollars and casinos are required to pay 50 percent of their revenues to the Egyptian government in tax. Thus it is possible to see from the nearest Islamic country with land-based casinos how restrictions could be imposed in the UAE in preventing local nationals entering any casinos that are in due course permitted along with preventing local currency being used to finance gambling.
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IMGL MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2023
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