In the package of new information today is a report that the government has received several proposals from Bahamians and non-Bahamians who are interested in the establishment of a local lottery. While we are quite aware of the controversial nature of the debate surrounding ‘gambling’ in The Bahamas, we are persuaded that the time has come for this issue to be settled once and for all. Our considered conclusion on the matter is that Bahamians should not be discriminated against in their country, and that they should be allowed to do whatever any foreigner is allowed to legally do in The Bahamas.
It is irksome, annoying and quite likely unconstitutional for tourists to be free to gamble in The Bahamas and for that right to be denied citizens in an independent and sovereign Bahamas . The enormity of this outrage is compounded when reference is made to the principle that sovereignty is itself grounded in the people. The government of The Bahamas, can by simple legislation, sweep away this vestige of colonialism, this remnant of backwardness which discriminates against all Bahamians, and in the Bahamas , no less.
As it has been from colonial days in The Bahamas, the question of gambling remains one of this country’s most vexing problems. On the one hand are to be found people who might be defined as ‘purists’ on the gambling issue. They oppose it on the grounds of its purported capacity to corrupt weak-willed people. On the other hand are to be found those Bahamians who see nothing wrong with gambling, and who believe that people should be allowed to spend their money as they see fit.
What makes the discussion of the gambling issue somewhat controversial is that a number of powerful churchmen have come out against it. Implied in their opposition is a thinly veiled political threat. Our view is that the ‘new’ Progressive Liberal Party, under the leadership of the Hon. Perry C. Christie can, if it has the courage, work to resolve this matter to the satisfaction of the vast majority of Bahamians.
In the first instance, the government would be well-advised to bring to the attention of today’s Bahamian that ‘gambling’ has traditionally been ‘illegal’ in The Bahamas and that those who gambled could only do so because they had been granted special exemption from prosecution.
Second, since it is a known fact and widely accepted practice for Bahamians to gamble, Bahamians should be made to face up to the high level of hypocrisy in the nation, where ‘numbers houses’ and other casino operations flourish.
Third, and fundamentally, questions arise concerning whether Bahamians in an independent Bahamas should be barred from spending their money as they see fit.
It is more than passing strange that foreigners can have ‘rights’ in The Bahamas to gamble, while Bahamians are discriminated against. This is absurd. As in other instances of neglect and abuse of Bahamians, the status quo is accepted willy-nilly, and without question. So, while we respect many of the views put forward by those who oppose gambling, we cannot agree with them when they go on to say that this opposition extends to binding other people or the government of The Bahamas. An individual’s orientation to matters of conscience is a moral and sometimes religious issue. As such it should be off limits to public policy consideration. The gambling issue is one of these.
In the event gambling is legalized in The Bahamas, we are certain that there will be people who will not do so simply because it is not something they wish to do. This is the identical argument which holds in the case of the sale of alcohol and its consumption. As the tragic history of Prohibition attests, the ban on alcohol only served to drive it underground, enriching the few and impoverishing many. By analogy, the banning of gambling in The Bahamas has had the effect of turning many Bahamians into hypocrites, with practically everyone turning a blind eye to this underground industry. This is bad news for the entire community, exposing as it does a soft underbelly of corruption and hypocrisy in The Bahamas, thereby undermining the rule of law.
What irks us in most of the criticism concerning issues such as gambling and other ‘victimless crimes’ is what we would depict as a species of pious paternalism. This complex of attitudes seems to be predicated on the premise that certain leaders know best what is good for everyone in The Bahamas. This will not do in a democracy where all citizens are called to make up their own minds on matters germane to their well-being. So, while we believe that the Bahamas Christian Council has a right to its opinion, that right should not extend so far that it restricts the rights of Bahamians to follow their own conscience in the matter of gambling.
Editorial, The Bahama Journal
