Illegal gaming has taken on a new dimension in New Providence with ﾓweb shopsﾒ popping up all over the island, with a heavy concentration in the Over-the-Hill area.
On the outside they appear to be regular Internet shops, but on the inside, an elaborate set-up of computers, credit card machines and even an automatic teller machine similar to those used in banks are available for clients wishing to place bets in the daily Miami and Chicago lotteries.
Some local bars, Laundromats and ice cream parlors are linked to these web shops through the use of palm pilots, allowing clients the convenience of gambling from many different locations.
The proliferation of these clandestine operations is indicative of a culture of widespread gambling that is cloaked in taboo.
Local authorities have admitted that the vice is difficult to stamp out, but some critics have blamed this on a lack of political will and national resolve.
The Christian community, meanwhile, remains strenuously opposed to gambling.
At the newer high-tech gambling houses, bets are placed two times per day: morning bets are placed before 1pm and late evening bets are placed before 7pm. Drawing for the lotteries take place at 1:40pm for the morning session and 8pm for the evening drawing.
Long lines were evident between 11am and 1pm Monday at some of these web shops with persons dipping into their pockets and placing bets for as little as 25 cents. Winning numbers could be checked on a website called Nassaugame.com or by calling the web shops or their subsidiaries.
According to a frequent player, winnings payouts are different at the various web shops.
But generally a dollar bet could provide the recipient with $800 during the morning drawing and $700 for the evening drawing for the three ball. The four ball winners receive $2,500 for a Chicago bet and $1,500 for a Miami bet.
While observing the activities at one of the web shops, a customer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. ﾓI usually buy numbers every other day to try and make a little extra money. Sometimes I am lucky and I win and sometimes I donﾴt, but itﾴs fun trying and if I lose I donﾴt mind because I usually only place bets up to $10.ﾒ
The customer added that because he didnﾴt play the game every day, he opted not to sign up for an account and played by going to the windows and placing the bet, which is considered illegal in The Bahamas.
For years, the police have been tackling the problem of numbers buying, but Bahamians are finding new methods to place the bets despite continuous efforts by authorities to invade numbers houses and shut them down.
While visiting a few of the established web shops, The Bahama Journal was able to see first-hand the daily operations of the web shops, also known as web cafes.
There are two ways in which the betting can be carried out using the web shops: one method is to set up an Internet account where you are at liberty to place bets from the comfort of your home and the other method is to walk in and stand on a line where you are served by an employee behind a tinted glass, according to an employee at one of the local web shops.
She explained, the Internet method of placing bets is carried out by the client placing funds on his or her account set up by the web shop. Using an automatic teller machine, funds are deposited onto the clientﾴs account if he or she wins. The client is then able to place bets right from the machine, after which a receipt will be printed with the clientﾴs purchase. That receipt is used to claim cash if the client wins.
The other method is done more discreetly because it involves cash handling from customer to employee, the staff member said.
When one of the clientﾴs wins a bet, the funds won will be deposited to the respective clientﾴs account and the client could either leave the funds there to use for future betting or it could be withdrawn from the automatic teller machine by inserting the client card and entering a pin number and requesting the amount wanted.
The employee told the Journal that every day, new persons are signing up for web accounts.
The proliferation of numbers houses is something key government officials have been pointing to in recent times, with some of them even pushing for gambling to be legalized.
ﾓWho among us is not aware of the various numbers houses in our society?ﾒ Kenyatta Gibson, chairman of the Gaming Board asked his colleagues recently. ﾓIt is stated that they operate out of bars, restaurants, ice cream parlors and yes, Laundromats. Some have now set up websites upon which their customers can place bets from the safety of their own homes.ﾒ
Mr. Gibson has said that despite the best efforts of those opposed to a national lottery, Bahamians are gambling already.
ﾓThe only distinction is that the operators do not give one penny in taxes to the government,ﾒ he said. ﾓI say, legalize it, regulate it and tax it.ﾒ
Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe, who is responsible for gaming, sparked controversy when he made the same call many months ago.
At his partyﾴs convention in November, 2002, Minister Wilchcombe said that initial findings of a study into illegal gambling in The Bahamas, showed that there are at least 45 illegal gambling houses in New Providence and 12 in Grand Bahama.
He said 60 percent of the adult population of The Bahamas spends anywhere from $1.8 million to $2 million both locally and abroad on games of chance each week.ﾒ
ﾓOur choices are very clear,ﾒ Minister Wilchcombe said at the time. ﾠﾓWe must either strengthen the penalties for this illegal activity or we must find the formula to introduce a national lottery.ﾒ
The Florida Lottery conservatively estimates that $US100 million is spent every year by Bahamians playing the Florida Lottery, according to Mr. Gibson.
ﾓThis is money that we can keep here in The Bahamas,ﾒ he told House Members several months ago.
Bianca Symonette, The Bahama Journal
