Place your bets: Liechtenstein is betting on keeping casinos

Voters in Liechtenstein on Sunday flatly rejected a proposed ban on casinos in a referendum that has polarized the tiny principality and its 40,000 inhabitants.

With six casinos across the country that are about the size of the city of Brussels – or 1/8 the size of Rome – the microstate has become known among gamblers as the “Las Vegas of the Alps”.

However, pro-ban arguments over issues such as gambling addiction and potential damage to the wealthy nation’s reputation were decisively brushed aside, as 73% of voters rejected the ban and 27% supported it, with a turnout of 70%, according to the official census published online.

The referendum, and the signatures needed to activate it, were brought about by the pressure group IG Volksmeinung, set up to combat the “casino flood”.

They argue that the fledgling industry risks tarnishing a national image that the state has worked hard to restore. The country was on an international blacklist of tax havens until it began relaxing banking secrecy laws more than a decade ago.

Ahead of the vote, the country’s prince spoke out against the ban, as did the government, who said the gambling industry is an important source of income and argued that a ban was too drastic a measure to tackle problems like gambling addiction.