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This is the first post in a -part blog series focused on the 2022 World Cup.

Four years ago, more than half the global population tuned in to watch the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Now, only a month away, soccer fans anxiously await the 2022 World Cup. This year, thirty-two countries will compete in the most popular sport in the world in hopes of being crowned champion. With over 3.5 billion fans worldwide and over 250 million players across 200 countries, no other event reaches such a global audience.

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It’s nothing new for tourists to visit a place in order to do something that would be prohibited where they live. Whether it’s lower drinking ages, legalized drugs, or legalized gambling, some places thrive off of such tourism. Bahrain, for example, serves as a sort of liberalized haven for many of those living in Islamist Saudi Arabia. The country's lenient drinking laws have attracted Saudi escapists, who in turn contribute nearly ten percent to Bahrain’s economy. So why are Bahraini legislators contemplating scrapping the country’s drinking laws and imposing near-total prohibition?