Last year Parliament was told by The Bahamas Gaming Board chairman that the current law prohibiting Bahamians from gaming was unacceptable. The Prime Minister had earlier admitted that the existing anti-gambling law could not be enforced and the Committee for Gaming Reform (BGR) is pressing for the law to be amended. The gaming laws were enacted in the 1960s and both the Committee and the Gaming Board want to see them modernised.

Following an announcement that the Wyndham Nassau Resort and Crystal Palace Casino will shut for two months next August as a result of the economic recession, the BGR issued a press statement declaring that it considered the current laws ‘inadequate to cope with the changing dynamics of the international gaming industry,’ adding that ‘the arcane and archaic discriminatory policies are debilitating to the potential for growth in a very important sector of the touristic product and denying citizens and residents every opportunity to participate in this growth.’

BGR President Sidney Strachan commented, “If expatriate residents are allowed to gamble while continuing to deny Bahamian nationals to both engage in the gaming industry and to own and operate casinos, this will further aggravate nationals and will severely handicap the aspirations of many entrepreneurial Bahamians."

One member of the BGR has called upon the government to be bold and creative as The Bahamas is facing an economic crisis. "The opening up of the gaming industry is one of the ways to increase employment and business opportunities for Bahamians, while adding to the recirculation of the money in the local economy." The BGR considers urgent action is needed for the industry to be able to compete with emerging gaming markets in Florida and other Caribbean islands. (E-01.21.09)

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