It has long been a losing battle for police and now there are reliable reports that several new numbers houses have joined the list of well-established gaming places.
It is said several of those operations are controlled by well-known underworld figures.
The Guardian was reliably informed that establishments have, in some instances, been passed from generation to generation.
And with the advent of modern technology, some of these gaming establishments have state-of-the-art computer systems, which allows one to purchase numbers from the comfort of one’s home after money has been placed on account.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force is still trying to crack down on the business, which has been said to be “really affecting the poor man, adding to the moral decay of the country and the lackadaisical attitudes of those who are unwilling to work, but who are just waiting and hoping to hit it big in the illegal jackpot.”
The Guardian has been told the new numbers establishments have set up shop mainly in the Over-The-Hill areas.
Though not confirmed, the sources said there were at least 48 establishments in New Providence and 12 in Grand Bahama.
Police press liaison officer Chief Superintendent Hulan Hanna said Sunday that numbers houses should know officers will be coming their way.
He warned the police are anxious to shut down those operations.
“We will continue to go after those who continue to defy the law and set up these types of shops. We will not stop until these persons are placed before court and they are dealt with according to the law. Whatever tenacity they continue with, the legal lottery, we will have that and more to go after them,” he said.
He was not the only one taking that stand.
“This is a serious problem we have in this country when you have a man merely making minimum wage, spending the little that he has on numbers and there seems to be nothing we can do about it,” said one well-known pastor, who wished to remain anonymous.”
“If the powers that be don’t soon find some way to put a handle on this situation, our little country will be in a serious state in the next couple of years,” the pastor warned.
His comments came as a call for a national lottery to be established seems to be gaining ground.
When contacted over the weekend, outspoken pastor Rev. C. B. Moss, said he hoped that one day the illegal numbers game, just like all illegal activities, in The Bahamas would cease.
“If it is illegal then the authorities should ensure that the laws are obeyed.”
Rev. Moss, who was also a guest presenter at a town meeting last week to address the issue of a national lottery, said the problem with a lottery is that it would be a “silent tax” and would not create any new wealth.
“It has a very, very serious social cost to it because there is a tremendous (hidden) cost that is associated with it, in terms of social dislocation,” he said.
He said a lottery, as it is a gaming activity, increases crime.
“When people use their funds to play the lottery, especially funds they can not really afford to play, it then leaves them without sufficient money to do the things that they normally would do and that leads them to crime to replace the money they need.
“Gambling in the form of lottery, and any other forms of gambling, produces human desperation. Access to gambling increases the chance that people will become addicted to it, and that brings with it a whole lot of other problems.
“I think that gambling victimises the poor. There is no question that gambling, particularly in the form of a lottery, is played primarily by the people from the lower socio-economic level,” Rev. Moss said. “It is the poor people that sees gambling as their one and only chance of escaping poverty and to get into the good life.”
Rev. Moss explained that gambling in any form, including the lottery, produces the wrong attitude toward work and promotes the idea that a person can live by his wits and his luck and he does not have to work and make any contribution.
“It counteracts what we are trying to do in this country, which is to increase productivity and improve the work ethic. Gambling has a direct negative impact on what we are seeking to achieve; it contradicts social responsibility.”
“It is for many reasons a very, very bad idea to establish a national lottery.” he said.” It is only a risk taker and no one is guaranteed a big win.”
Yet, there are countless people who say point blank that the numbers game is here to stay, despite the relentless attitude of the police.
They say the government should legalise the game. Their pleas, however, have fallen on deaf ears.
But, at the same town meeting, quite a number of people were in favour of having a national lottery, which they said could assist in the further development of sports in the country, if properly regulated.
In 1994, former minister of youth and culture Algernon Allen said implementation of a national lottery would automatically produce 200 jobs for Bahamians.
Mr. Allen, who has advocated the implementation since 1992, said in this way “monies would be available to immediately” and “positively impact on sporting, cultural and youth civic programmes.”
In December, 1999, then PLP senator Obie Wilchcombe urged the government to legalise a lottery. He suggested that the profits could be used to sponsor the country’s premier cultural event, Junkanoo.
On the weekend, The Guardian caught up with a high-ranking bank official, who has high hopes that one day the government would indeed “see the wisdom of implementing a national lottery”
“Let’s face it; we have persons from all strata of society who spend large sums of money each day playing numbers even though it is not legal. Why not in all wisdom create a system where that money stays in the country and not have to go overseas,” he said.
By conservative estimates lottery houses around the island rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars daily.
The numbers lottery has been around for many, many years. It has attracted well-known figures including politicians, business executives, hotel workers, bus and taxi-cab drivers, doctors, lawyers, straw vendors, pastors and churchgoers.
According to a Guardian source, one can purchase numbers at almost any bar or restaurant.
“You can actually buy numbers every five to 10 feet in Nassau,” the source claimed.
The man, who estimated he had been playing the game for more than 20 years, told The Guardian that in the more progressive establishments (where the computers are located) a dollar bet on a three-ball can rake in $750-$800 dollars. On a four-ball, a dollar bet can pull in $2,800 to $3,000.
Under the old system, where a person writes the number on a paper, a dollar bet on a three-ball can pull in $700; and on a four-ball $2,000 to $2,500.
According to the source, the first ball, which is called early Chicago, in the advance web system close at 12:40 to 12:45 p.m.; Miami at 7 p.m., and late Chicago at 9 p.m.
Pointing to the old system, he explained that early Chicago closes at 1:30 p.m., Miami at 7:30 p.m., and late Chicago at 9:30 p.m.
“The system is advancing as if it were legal. Numbers shops are popping up in just about every area. Every week a new store is opening up,” the man said.
“The system is so advanced that once monies are placed on your account at the shop, you can send in numbers from home on your personal computer system,” he said.
Illegal gambling has become a national pasttime that generates millions of dollars that subsequently leave the country.
By Keva Lightbourne, The Nassau Guardian
