On Sunday, voters in Liechtenstein overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to ban casinos in a referendum that polarized the small principality of 40,000 residents, Agerpres reported.

With six casinos in the entire territory, which is one tenth of London, this microstate is also known as the “Las Vegas of the Alps” among gamblers.

Arguments in favor of banning them, such as gambling addiction and potential damage to the prosperous country’s reputation, were rejected in Sunday’s vote, with 73% of voters voting against the ban against a turnout of 70%, according to the data. official

The organization of this referendum and the gathering of the necessary signatures was the initiative of the pressure group IG Volksmeinung, which argues that the booming casino industry risks damaging the image of the country, which it was trying to restore after being a “blacklisted” fiscal haven until it decided to relax bank secrecy laws more than 10 years ago.

Before the vote, Prince Hans Adam II spoke out against the ban, as did the government, which argued that the gambling industry was an important source of revenue and that the ban was too drastic a measure to tackle problems such as gambling addiction.