WESTERN BUREAU:
THE DECISION whether Jamaica should introduce casino gambling should be put to its citizens in a referendum, and the Church and State must be prepared to accept the will of the people.
That suggestion was made on the weekend by Kenyatta Gibson, chairman of the Gaming Board of the Bahamas, who told Jamaican hoteliers in Montego Bay that the people must determine what was good for them.
Mr. Gibson, who is also a Member of Parliament in the Bahamas, said he was aware of opposition to legalised gambling in Jamaica from certain quarters of the established Church but despite all what has been said and done, “I believe that it is for a higher, more qualified forum to decide definitively on the issue, in our various jurisdictions. It is said that the voice of the people is the voice of God; as such we should let the people decide.”
GAMBLING
Mr. Gibson was speaking at the closing session of the annual general meeting of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) at the Wyndham Rose Hall Beach Hotel on Saturday night.
“I believe that the peoples of our various jurisdictions should be given the right to decide for themselves what involvement, if any, they will have with gambling,” Mr. Gibson said.
The Bahamas Gaming Board chairman said he had “no personal predilection for gambling that makes me an objective advocate for it’s continued successes in jurisdictions like the Bahamas.” However, “on moral issues such as these, national referenda are necessary to discuss, assimilate and decide on various courses of action that must be taken on the gaming issue. I believe that governance ﾭ real true democratic governance ﾭ is about adhering to the will of the people”.
CHURCH, STATE AND LAYMAN
According to Mr. Gibson, the “airing out” of the determinations would allow for “diverse schools of thought to be heard and contended with. The people must understand what is being put before them, and all ﾭ Church, State and layman ﾭ must be prepared to accept the will of the people.”
He said that in democracies as “vibrant and courageous as ours in the Caribbean,” this sort of test should be respected, admired and anticipated.
In the fiscal years from July 1, 2000 to June 30, 2002, revenue earned from the three casinos in the Bahamas was more than US$23 million, and the operators of the casinos were also expected to show a social conscience, he said.
Among the benefits derived from many jurisdictions that allowed legalised casino gambling was social development funds which finance urban renewal, sport, education and health initiatives in the respective communities, Mr. Gibson said.
He disclosed that a fourth casino was expected to be opened in the Bahamas in September by the American company, Isle Of Capri, and that would employ another 350 persons to work in various aspects of the operation.
In the Bahamas, said Mr. Gibson, the Hotel Corporation was paid a licensing fee as part of the casino industry’s social development obligations and in turn the corporation was mandated to fuel the engine of hotel, resort and tourist development.
Citing those who oppose the setting up of legalised gambling on the ground that it would result in the decay of family life and society due to addictive gambling, he said there was no such problems in the Bahamas as citizens were not allowed to gamble.
Mr. Gibson said he found it interesting that while Jamaicans were allowed to play various lotteries, Bahamians were not allowed to gamble in the casinos. And while the debate over legalising casinos was raging here, there was now a debate in the Bahamas over the setting up of a national lottery.
The only real scourge on the industry, he said, was that of the addictive gambler who should be “weeded out” as the “stereotypes of Mafia and organised crime control are better suited for the movie screens” and fiction writers.
Mr. Gibson said that “in reality, the gambling industry, even though it has not been promoted or sustained in the Bahamas as an economic engine unto itself, was the Siamese twin of its more colourful, flamboyant, aggressive, well-promoted, more preferred and better understood half sister ﾭ tourism.”
“If we are sufficiently serious about gaming, its contribution to national development can be substantial.”
The tourists who come to gamble, he said, “have no interest in the flora or fauna of the country. They aspire to no tropical suntan, they have no interest in the straw basket at the cultural market, duty-free rum or perfume or even a taxi from the airport to the casino. They simply want to play. We create an ambience for them to play and we collect our dividends in licence fees, taxes and other ancillary benefits. Additionally, a full complement of our citizens earn a decent living.”
Mr. Gibson warned, however, that operators of casinos must keep up-to-date on the ever-improving technology and as a very competitive market “we must be up all night, at work, improving the delivery of services, the quality of hospitality and the overall product which we offer our guests.”
By Paul Reid, Jamaica Gleaner
