Mitchell, Sears say govt should legalize gambling
By KRYSTEL ROLLE ~ Guardian Staff Reporter ~ krystel@nasguard.com:
The government ought to find the "courage and conviction" to legalize gambling in the country, according to two opposition MPs, who recently voiced their support for such a move.
Fort Charlotte MP Alfred Sears and Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell both agree that the Ingraham administration should immediately legalize some form of gambling for Bahamians.
Their announced support of gambling came more than a week after the Cabinet Office announced that the government will not proceed with the legalization of gambling. The government has instead concluded that a referendum should be held after the next general election so Bahamians can have the final say on the divisive issue.
However, Mitchell said he believes something should be done now.
"[Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham] is unable to exercise the courage of his conviction in the area of legalizing gambling in this country," said Mitchell in the House of Assembly during debate on the proposed new budget last Thursday. "I support the change in the law which will legalize gambling to all Bahamians without any discrimination whatsoever and the regulation of the gaming that's presently going on."
He added: "I need go no further than to say that the two religious leaders who last spoke on this issue, both the Roman Catholic and the Anglican, saw no intrinsic moral evil in gambling and so therefore the case against it in my view rests and the government should without delay move to allow Bahamians of adult age to exercise their specific choice of entertainment or investment if that is their desire. I do not gamble."
Sears said instead of opposing gambling, the churches should teach their members discipline.
"I heard the prime minister talking about taking away the concessions from persons under the Industries Encouragement Act (IEA)," Sears said as he made his contribution to the budget debate last week.
The prime minister announced last week that those businesses which have benefited from tax concessions for five years or more would have to pay 10 percent stamp tax duty on imports starting July 1.
Sears added that he would like Ingraham "to be just as biggety and just as bold" with the people affected by the IEA as he is with Atlantis.
"Concessions should be to attract," he said. "But we are still giving [them] away. You are taking [concessions] away from Bahamians, but yet Atlantis is getting $4 million cash and they're getting it to promote casino gambling. So you mean to tell me that my tax money is being given to Atlantis to promote casino gambling? And let me disclose right now that I support [it]. I represent Mr. Craig Flowers and I personally support the legalization of local gaming in The Bahamas."
Flowers was charged in a magistrates court several months ago with allowing his business to be used to conduct a lottery. The case is ongoing.
Sears said Bahamians will continue to gamble, if not in The Bahamas, elsewhere.
"You cannot have Bahamians going to Miami to buy lotto and my tax money is being spent to attract people here to gamble," he continued. "And my cousin and the church members are working in the casino. And the churches are going to Atlantis and asking them to let them have their functions in Atlantis and walking through the casino. Mr. Speaker, we must learn to make the tough decisions about public policy and not pander to special interests. Is it in the interest of The Bahamas?"
Ingraham told The Nassau Guardian recently that investigations had determined that the government could have brought in substantial revenues annually from the legalization of the numbers business.
"Quite candidly, I had hoped that we would have legalized the numbers business," Ingraham said.
"I'd hoped that we would have collected between $30 million and $40 million annually in revenue from the gambling business. Our investigations revealed that that's the kind of revenue we would have gotten as taxes.
"And I was hoping that we would not have to impose taxes on the Bahamian people, at least not to that extent, but that is not to be. So we have to get the money anyhow to provide the services that we have to provide to the population of The Bahamas."
The Cabinet Office statement said the government made the decision not to proceed with the legalization of gambling "after consultation with a wide range of community leaders and other citizens, including leaders of the church."
June 7, 2010
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