According to the Keevon Research, Strategy and Communications survey released Monday, 37 percent of Israelis want gambling legalized while 55 percent are happy with keeping it illegal. Eight percent had no opinion.

The poll, which had 500 Jewish Israeli respondents and a 4.5 percent margin of error, found that opposition to gambling is stronger among the religious, the less educated and the poor.

Israel has a brisk underground casino scene and many of its citizens regular visit nearby European countries where gambling is legal. The closure of the Palestinian Authority’s only casino, in Jericho, after the outbreak of violence in 2000 has stirred speculation that the Jewish state could ease its ban on gambling.