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NASSAU, Bahamas — A new Gaming Bill would allow people outside The Bahamas to gamble on a website established, maintained and operated by the holder of a local gaming licence.<\/p>\nNASSAU, Bahamas — A new Gaming Bill would allow people outside The Bahamas to gamble on a website established, maintained and operated by the holder of a local gaming licence.<\/p>\n
But they must be in a country or jurisdiction that permits online gaming.<\/p>\n
The bill would also allow work permit holders and permanent residents to gamble in The Bahamas.<\/p>\n
The controversial bill is likely to be tabled in the House of Assembly next week, according to Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe, who said Cabinet will review it on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The bill would allow local casinos to offer mobile and Internet gaming to their clients.<\/p>\n
One of the most controversial aspects of the proposed draft is that it prohibits only Bahamian citizens from gambling.<\/p>\n
The decision to lift the current ban on work permit holders and permanent residents is an adoption of a proposal presented to the government by industry stakeholders — that is, current holders of gaming licences.<\/p>\n
The stakeholders have asked the government to \u201callow permanent residents, holders of short- and long-term work visas to participate in casino gaming, subject to payment of an appropriate levy to the government\u201d.<\/p>\n
The industry stakeholders\u2019 \u201cGuide to modernization of casino regulations in The Bahamas\u201d says \u201callowing wealthy permanent residents to gamble locally would keep gaming taxes in the country\u201d.<\/p>\n
The document says the public\u2019s interest would be protected with significant controls.<\/p>\n
It notes that in Singapore, residents must buy a daily pass for US$100 or yearly pass for $2,000 for casino entry, limiting access to those with financial means.<\/p>\n
Wilchcombe, the minister responsible for gaming, said on Sunday, \u201cWe haven\u2019t yet signed off on what we are taking to Parliament.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the government understands that the law must be \u201cequitable\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome will ask \u2018does it mean my gardener can go into the casino and I can\u2019t?\u2019 We have to make sure it\u2019s done in a way that it is equitable, so even if we decide [to allow it], it may not be done tomorrow. Matters are still being discussed,\u201d Wilchcombe noted.<\/p>\n
He said any move to lift the prohibition against Bahamians being allowed to gamble in casinos must be carefully considered as it has social and economic implications.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn lifting the prohibition, how will it impact the economy? How will it impact the domestic environment? The third thing is the strength of the economy,\u201d Wilchcombe said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan our economy withstand any shock if Bahamians decide in large numbers that they want to be in casinos?\u201d<\/p>\n
As it stands now, the government has no plans to lift the prohibition on Bahamians gambling in casinos.<\/p>\n
Wilchcombe noted that while Bahamians are prohibited from gambling in casinos, the law does not stop them from applying and receiving casino licenses.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy can\u2019t a group of Bahamians apply for a casino licence?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing stops Bahamians from owning casinos and jumping into the industry. That\u2019s where they ought to be thinking now. How can we pool our resources?\u201d<\/p>\n
The new Gaming Act would provide for several different classes of licences; among them, gaming, proxy gaming, restricted interactive gaming and junket operator licences.<\/p>\n
In the case of a gaming licence, a company must have proven expertise in the management and operation of casinos in a regulated environment, or demonstrable access to such expertise.<\/p>\n
The company must also be of good financial standing and have adequate means to undertake and sustain the activity for which the licence is required.<\/p>\n
A proxy gaming licence would allow the operator to conduct gaming using any communications technology, including over the Internet.<\/p>\n
A restricted interactive gaming licence would allow for people outside The Bahamas to gamble via a website established by the holder of a local gaming licence.<\/p>\n
And the junket operator licence would facilitate visits to casino resorts of 20 or more \u201cjunket visitors\u201d — that is, visitors on an excursion to a casino resort.<\/p>\n
Wilchcombe said before it is brought to the House there will be a special briefing for members of Parliament and another briefing for the press.<\/p>\n
By Candia Dames<\/em><\/span> The proposed new Gaming Bill would allow work permit holders, permanent residents, and people in authorised jurisdictions outside the Bahamas to gamble online but prohibits Bahamian citizens from gambling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[228,137,69,49],"class_list":["post-35145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-bahamians","tag-gambling","tag-internet","tag-law"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35145\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe Nassau Guardian<\/em><\/span>
\nSource: Caribbean News Now<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"