Lebanon's historic Casino du Liban gambles with online venture

However, these days the casino, which was forced to close towards the end of Lebanon's Civil War (1975-90) only to re-open again in 1995, appears to be seeking to diversify in order to stay afloat and is looking to branch out to provide online gaming options.

Casino du Liban has launched a public tender - set to close on 19 January - inviting technology firms to partner with them in an online gaming platform, Business News Lebanon reported on Friday.

The tender stipulates that all applicants must already be generating revenues of $650 million, with 75 percent of that amount accrued through gaming and gambling, and be willing to invest $15 million in the new platform. 

In 2013 the Lebanese government decided to prevent internet service providers in the country from connecting with international online gambling sites arguing that the use of such sites by Lebanese nationals was cutting profits generated by the casino which is a joint public-private venture which had a colourful civil war-era history and has since been implicated in corruption scandals.

Casino du Liban originally opened in 1959 and is managed by London Clubs International, a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment. In 2014 it was the target of an elaborate terror plot that was foiled by Lebanese security services.