Monday, January 24, 2011

Great frustration expressed at the Bahamian Government's delay in implementing reforms to The Bahamas' gaming regulations

Atlantis: Get a move on with gaming reforms
By ALISON LOWE
Business Reporter
alowe@tribunemedia.net



Branding announcements that Jamaica is set to grant three casino licenses this year as "a big problem" for Bahamian tourism, Kerzner International (Bahamas) top executive has expressed great frustration at the Government's delay in implementing reforms to this nation's gaming regulations.

Speaking to Tribune Business about the wait for the Government to move ahead with reforms proposed by the Bahamas Hotel Association and the Casino Association, George Markantonis, the company's managing director and president, told Tribune Business he finds the entire situation "very frustrating" and warned of the implications for Bahamian tourism.

"It's been over a year. It's very frustrating. This isn't, to me, that difficult. You're only talking about two major casinos and, frankly, every day we are losing ground in the gaming world. We just have some regulations that are annoying to the consumer. It's way easier to go and gamble elsewhere," said Mr Markantonis.

He noted that many of the recommendations "were procedural (and) not sensitive", providing all the more reason why their consideration and implementation could have moved ahead more swiftly.

Meanwhile, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business he was now in possession of the final recommendations for reform of the Bahamas' gaming laws and regulations, and hoped to present them to the industry next month.

In an e-mailed response to this newspaper, he said: "I had the final review of the recommendations from the Gaming group with me, and hope to present it for consideration next month. I am not sure how long it will take to change regulations to effect whatever is agreed, but we will advance it as quickly as possible."

Mr Markantonis and other industry chiefs say the changes are necessary to keep the Bahamas competitive as a destination for gamblers.

Mr Markantonis' comments come after Jamaica's minister of tourism, Edmund Bartlett, spoke to the world's media at the recent Caribbean Marketplace tourism trade show, which took place in Montego Bay last week, about his government's "casino dream".

He revealed that Jamaica intends to grant three casino licenses this year and is taking applications for others, with the expectation that each casino could bring in $40 million in revenue to the Government annually.

Mr Markantonis said he sees this development as a "big problem" for the Bahamas, and a "bigger issue" than the fact that the Jamaican government has also just opened a state-of-the-art convention centre - the Caribbean's largest - in Montego Bay in the hopes of gaining a greater share of this lucrative tourism market that the Bahamas, and Atlantis especially, has traditionally benefited from.

"I do think that will be a problem for us - I am not going to hide it. If they do approve all these mega-resort casino licenses there, it's just more casinos coming right on our doorstep.

"We have to keep working on the gaming regulations we have here, make sure they are friendly to the casinos we have here and, at the same time, we have to work on our marketing programs like anything else. You can't just roll over; you learn how to compete in a tougher market," said Mr Markantonis.

Casinos in the Bahamas have suffered significant year-over-year declines in revenue in recent times. Atlantis reported an 8 per cent decline in 2010, while Crystal Palace saw an 18.5 per cent drop. While this is in part because of sluggish tourism levels overall, industry stakeholders have consistently pointed to out-dated gaming regulations as a contributing factor in a narrowing of this nation's competitive advantage.

In March 2009, Robert Sands, then Bahamas Hotel Association president, told this newspaper he believed "radical change" would be needed to gaming regulations if the Bahamas is to maintain a competitive edge against other popular destinations.

When Mr Vanderpool-Wallace last spoke to Tribune Business in October 2010 on the subject of the reforms proposed by the hotel and gaming industry to the sector's regulatory framework, he suggested the proposals were "in front of (him) right now" and under active consideration.

The Minister suggested the Government is looking to marry its own recommendations that it believes will be "even more beneficial" to Bahamian casino gaming with those proposed by the private sector, as it moves to "enhance and hold on to the significant competitive advantages" this nation has.

January 24, 2011

tribune242