For GBI, the settlement marked a disappointing end to what the company saw as a successful venture.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe closure is a shame, given the giant strides GBI Racing has made in the four and a half years of trading in Israel,\u201d a GBI spokesperson said. \u201cThe country had no history of horseracing, no infrastructure to facilitate betting on horseracing, and had no real affiliation with a uniquely British product.\u201d<\/p>\n
The spokesperson went on to describe Israel as a \u201ckey market,\u201d saying that they believed the arrangement had been good both for Israel and for tracks back in the British Isles.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a partnership that has delivered substantial revenues and funding to UK and Irish racecourses, as well as for sports and government good causes in Israel, but we have accepted the ministry\u2019s decision and the political will to close the operation,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cWe believe it is a fair settlement, given the circumstances.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nAccording to the spokesperson, GBI Racing will look to make up for the lost revenues by expanding operations in new and emerging markets, including in Africa and Italy.<\/p>\n
Horse racing was not the only target of Kahlon\u2019s gambling crackdown. The Mifal Hapayis national lottery was also forced to shut down more than 600 electronic gaming machines last week, after the lottery failed to reach an agreement with the Finance Ministry.<\/p>\n
\u201cEighteen months ago I said there would no longer be slot machines<\/a> in Israel, and I am very happy that from today, there aren\u2019t any more,\u201d Kahlon said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Israeli government has agreed to pay a settlement of 23 million shekels ($6.7 million) to GBI Racing following the implementation of a ban on betting on horse racing that came into effect last week. The settlement provides GBI with compensation for the remainder of their contract, which was initially set to expire this coming […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":66598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,61,16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Israeli Government Reaches $6.7 Million Settlement with GBI Racing<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n