Reports LEBANON - UPDATE
Pear-shaped market
Lebanon Gambling is currently the least of
Lebanon’s worries as the country tries to survive one of the worst economic crises documented. However, despite its Muslim roots Lebanon does offer some notable forms of gambling and as such the country remains a key and important gambling hub within the Middle East.
Lebanon is a broken country hanging by a thread. Te country has been dealing with a crippling economic crisis since late 2019 as years of political disputes, corruption, financial disasters, and lack of leadership have sent the country spiralling into hardship.
Tere’s a big social and economic divide between the wealthy few versus the vast majority (reportedly 82 per cent) who are currently struggling to make ends meet amid fuel shortages, power cuts, rising food costs and there has been a massive increase in poverty.
Even prior to the Coronavirus pandemic the country’s unemployment already stood at 25 per cent and a third of the population were living below the poverty line. Lebanon is said to be the world’s third most indebted nation. Today the unemployment rate is around 29.6 per cent
P54 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
whilst the youth unemployment rate is around 47.8 per cent.
As a comparison the unemployment rate was at its lowest in Lebanon in 2009 when it hit six per cent.
Te GDP growth rate for 2021 was -10.5 per cent, a 15 per cent increase from 2020 when the rate was -25.9 per cent. Te GDP per capita for 2021 was US$2,670 a 29 per cent decline from 2020 when the rate was $3,802 (a massive 49 per cent decline from 2019).
Te country has been a car crash waiting to happen. First the financial crisis in 2019 saw an economic meltdown as the country’s currency devalued by around 90 per cent. Ten the government decided to discontinue payments on all its outstanding US dollar-denominated
Eurobonds in early 2020 whilst the Covid pandemic which hit not long after caused nationwide lockdowns and further unemployment.
Adding further to the misery, an explosion in Beirut in August 2020 killed more than 200 people and left 300,000 homeless, which kicked off several government resignations and added further discontent among the community which had been brewing in the troubled country for years.
People were already angry with the government over the lack of basic services such as limited power supply, lack of drinking water and healthcare supply issues whilst other issues include the collapse of the state infrastructure with no fuel to run generators to provide power whilst many workers are on strike due to
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