Jordan is considering the possibility of building casinos in the Red Sea port of Aqaba and other areas such as the tourist attraction of Petra.

Deputy prime minister, Ali Abu al-Ragheb, wants to locate the casinos in areas off-limits to Jordanians. Jordan has been considering opening a casino in the region for some time now. There are a few casinos in the region: the United Arab Emirates is the main centre for gaming, with four establishments, while Iraq and Bahrain have one each.

In 2011, Jordan’s prime minister, Ma’arouf al-Bakhit, authorised the signing of a secret contract with UK-based developer Oasis Holding Investment to build an “extra-legal casino complex,” although he claimed later that he knew little about it.

The Arab Spring in 2011 put the “Dead Sea Casino” in the back burner.  The scheme was quite controversial as the government faced a US$1.4bn penalty for cancelling the deal.