Banning casinos after Fidel Castro took power (Cuba)

The victory of the revolution in January 1959 was a watershed for the Cuban gambling industry. Casinos, symbols of the "old regime" and foreign influence, were closed, and resort hotels lost gaming halls and came under state control. Havana from the Las Vegas Caribbean has become the capital of a new socialist model - with a different attitude towards entertainment, tourism and private capital.

1) Political and ideological reasons for the ban

Anti-corruption agenda: casinos were associated with kickbacks, patronage of officials and "dirty" money.

Anti-imperialist optics: the gambling boom was perceived as dependence on external (primarily American) demand.

Social justice: the new government sought to distance itself from the "showcase luxury," contrasting it with the mobilization of resources for education, health care and infrastructure.

Moral and cultural argument: casinos were called "centers of vice," undermining labor discipline and family values.

2) Timeline and mechanics of dismantling (1959-early 1960s)

January-spring 1959: mass closure of gambling halls; some of the venues are idle, some are temporarily re-profiled for the show without playing.

1959-1960: Government control of hotels and nightclubs, revocation or revocation of gambling permits.

1960-1961: wave of nationalization of large private property and property of foreign companies; casinos as a business model are disappearing.

Further years: criminal legal measures against illegal "underground" games; cultural institutions (cabaret, scenes) are preserved pointwise, but without gambling tables.

💡 Important: a number of legendary venues (for example, Tropicana) survived as a concert show format, but their gambling functions have been discontinued.

3) What exactly was closed and how the infrastructure was redistributed

Hotel casinos: Riviera, Capri, Deauville, Habana Hilton, parts of the Hotel Nacional halls, etc. - game spaces are closed, equipment is decommissioned or seized.

Cabaret and clubs: Preserved as stages/restaurant venues under new cultural policies, but no stakes or tables.

Slot machines: dismantled, stockpiled or destroyed; import and maintenance discontinued.

Personnel: croupiers, cashiers and managers go to other areas, emigrate or retrain; some artists and service personnel remain in the concert and gastronomic segment.

4) Economic implications

Reduction of "foreign exchange" tourism: a sharp drop in the American flow was intensified by political confrontation and embargo (1960).

Change of tourist model: bet on organized trips from friendly countries, cultural and educational exchanges instead of the "night economy."

Redistribution of income: resources previously rotated in the "fast" industries (casinos, bars, private shows) are directed to state programs.

Side effects: loss of high-margin segment, reduced employment in entertainment and hospitality, especially in Havana.

5) Social and cultural shift

The end of the image of "fun Havana": the city ceases to sell the "night scenario" dinner-show-casino; public morality is being reformed to socialist standards.

Ideological reprivatization of culture: stages and cabarets turn into platforms with the "correct" program - national music, choreography, propaganda culture.

Memory and myth: the pre-revolutionary era is recorded as a "spoiled" past world; at the same time, a nostalgic myth persists in the diaspora and the foreign press.

6) Fighting the underground

Criminalization of illegal games: raids, confiscations, show trials against the organizers of "home casinos."

Prevention: ideological campaigns, restrictions on "bourgeois" forms of leisure, increased control over nightlife.

Result: underground formats remained focal, but did not turn into a mass industry due to tough sanctions and low profitability in the new conditions.

7) Geopolitical factor

Break with the United States: the disappearance of the main source of "fast" customers and investments.

Shift towards the socialist bloc: tourism becomes planned and ideologically loaded; the priority is international solidarity and the "right" cultural agenda.

Information warfare: the image of closed casinos is used by both sides - as a symbol of "cleansing" (Cuba) and as a signal of the "expropriation" of private capital (USA).

8) Long-term effects and legacy

Transformation of the urban fabric: from an "integrated resort" to state cultural centers, hotels without casinos, conference venues.

Leaked competencies: managers, croupiers, promotional specialists left and joined other markets (USA, Caribbean, Latin America).

Historical symbolism: The casino ban was a "landmark reform," demonstrating a break with patronage practices, mafia ties and demonstrative luxury.

9) Comparison of "before" and "after"

Parameter	Until 1959	After 1959
Legal regime	Hotel casino licenses, grey areas of management	Complete gambling ban, nationalisation of key assets
Tourism	Mass flow from the USA, "night economy"	Ideologically friendly tourism, culture and exchanges
Economy	Highly profitable foreign exchange earnings, but unevenly distributed	Redirecting resources to state programs, reducing the share of "fast" income
Culture	Cabaret + casino as "package"	No-game show, "socialist" cultural politics

10) The bottom line

The ban on casinos in 1959 was not only an administrative step, but also a manifesto of a new model of society. He broke the "casino - tourism - external money" link on which post-war Havana rested, and transferred the city and country to the rails of the planned economy, ideologized culture and centralized control. Price - loss of a highly profitable segment and part of urban identity; the benefit is political and symbolic distancing from a corrupt past. That is why the casino ban remains a key event that determined Cuba's trajectory for decades to come.