Does Turkey Want Georgia to Close Casinos?
Betting on tourism as an important lifeline, Georgia has become a place where Turks, Arabs and Israelis can convene around a poker table. But, to hear ex-Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili tell it, one of the country's neighbors, Turkey, wants the casinos to close.
In a meeting last week with regional reporters, Ivanishvili, founder of Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream Party, claimed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo'an had personally asked him to do away with Georgia's gambling business a few years back, when both men served as prime ministers of their respective countries.
Watching fellow Turks return with empty wallets from neighboring Georgia apparently had taken its toll on Erdo'an, a practicing Muslim. Islam forbids gambling, and so does Turkey.
The Turkish embassy in Georgia told Tamada Tales, however, that the 2013 meeting with Ivanishvili happened too long ago for it to be able to comment about the two men's conversation.
Nonetheless, the attractions of Georgia's casinos for Turkish gamblers are clear.
With gambling banned in all of its Muslim neighbors ' Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan ' Georgia has essentially become the region's Vegas (Armenia ranks a distant second) ' an unimaginable status 21 years ago, when the James Bond movie 'Golden Eye' depicted a Georgian-born honey trap playing a game of baccarat with OO7.
Georgia's casino capital, the Black Sea city of Batumi, is only a short drive from the Turkish border. Many of Batumi's casinos have Turkish investment, and are run by and cater to Turks, local media report.
But the proliferation of gambling has caused grumbling on Georgia's side of the border as well.