Ironically, if Castro's ploy worked and the embargo were lifted, it seems quite likely that the effect would be precisely the kinds of capitalism that John Paul II most legitimately criticizes -- the crony capitalism or klepto-capitalism practiced by authoritarian regimes of the Left and the Right.
Traditionally, says Jan McMillen, a gaming-industry expert at the University of Western Australia, Asia has either prohibited betting, or doled out exclusive privileges to well-connected crony capitalists.