The National Center of Addiction Medicine has issued a statement saying it is opposed to the idea of building a casino in Iceland.
According to RÚV, the statement says that building a casino would only increase the number of people who struggle with gambling addiction in Iceland. Hörður J. Oddfríðarson, chairman of the organization, told reporters that even if the casino would be directed at foreign tourists, it would naturally be impossible to limit how many Icelanders could enter.
Icelandair would like to open a casino at Hótel Nordica, and have put in a formal request with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Industry to legalize casinos. Björgólfur Jóhannesson, the director of Icelandair, argues that a casino would be an added tourist attraction for the country.
Minister of Health Álfheiður Ingadóttir told Vísir that the ministry is against the idea altogether, saying that Iceland already has enough to offer tourists, and that gambling addiction is just as dangerous an illness as drug addiction.