Slot machines and other automated games of chance in Israel are back online. For now, that is.
This was after the High Court of Justice ordered national lottery monopoly Mifal Hapayis to reactivate the 500 slot machines and 150 keno machines “until the court finally rules on the matter,” Haaretz reported.
The order was issued by Justice Yoram Danzinger, according to the report.
If you recall, the state-backed lottery company had to shut down its slot and keno machines on New Year’s Eve after it failed to reach an agreement with the treasury on the renewal of its operating license. Mifal Hapayis requested for an extension, which officials from the finance ministry allowed but on the condition that the lottery operator would immediately switch off its automated games of chance.
The shutdown has prompted Mifal Hapayis franchisees, who operate the machines, sell lottery tickets and provide sports betting services, to plead for an intervention from the High Court, saying that the order to shutter the machines came “without prior notice” and has “seriously harmed their incomes.”
“Bettors continue to gamble but instead of the money going to Mifal Hapayis, which builds schools, it’s going into the pockets of loan sharks of the underworld,” a lawyer for the Mifal Hapayis’ franchisees was quoted by Haaretz saying. “The treasury may want to save gamblers, but it’s causing them to sink deeper into the mud with loans from the gray market.”
Extending the negotiations has been fruitful for the lottery monopoly, which secured a new permit that will allow the activities of its National Lottery until the end of 2021. Finance ministers and Mifal Hapayis also agreed on eight keno draws per day for residents living in areas that have a socio-economic rating of 6 and higher. For its part, the lottery operator agreed to remove all of its “luck” machines from lottery ticket kiosks.
