The Destructive Face Of Casino Gambling
Tribune242 Editorial
AS A follow up to our comments in this column yesterday a Tribune reader has sent us an interesting article from London’s Daily Mail on the Englishman’s destructive addiction to the roulette machine and Labour’s admission that it made a mistake by relaxing gambling laws thus allowing casinos to flourish.
All
the observations in the Daily Mail article are among the reasons that
we made it clear in this column yesterday that our comments about the
ever present “numbers racket” to the growing presence of web shops did
not include the more sophisticated casino tables of the hotels.
However,
with the number houses becoming over the years almost a part of the
island culture, it is going to be impossible to shut them down. It must
be particularly hard for the PLP to even consider closure, considering
that their party’s treasurer Percy Munnings was the acknowledged numbers
boss and with his gains a generous financial supporter of his party for
many years.
If
Percy Munnings could get away with it, reasoned the little numbers man,
then why couldn't he? It was a reasonable proposition. Despite the
police raids, the back room numbers trade became bolder and more
entrenched.
This
is why we accept that it has been allowed to become so much a part of
the fabric of the Bahamas that government might as well capitulate,
legalise it, tax it, and strictly control it so that it is not allowed
to grow into an octopus of destruction.
However,
allowing Bahamians into the hotel casinos is another matter and we
agree with Robert “Sandy” Sands, senior vice-president of external and
government affairs of BahaMar, that Bahamians are not “disciplined”
enough to be able to gamble locally. Not only are Bahamians not
disciplined enough, but neither are Britons — in fact few members of
the human race, unless they have entrenched religious convictions, and
strong wills, can easily escape the temptation of easy money.
Mr
Sands’ comments came after Prime Minister Perry Christie, while
promising a referendum before the end of the year to legalise gambling
and create a national lottery, vetoed the referendum being extended to
open casino gambling in the hotels to the local population.
According
to the Daily Mail article, written by Sarah Bridge and Abul Taher, the
extent of “Britain’s addiction to controversial casino-style gambling
machines” was revealed with the disclosure “by two bookmaker giants that
more than £12 billion was wagered on their machines in the first half
of this year.”
The figures revealed by the “bookies” was staggering.
But
the most interesting part of the article was the admission by Shadow
Culture Secretary Harriet Harman, who was a senior member of the
Cabinets of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, that her government had made a
tragic mistake.
“I think we were wrong,” the Mail quoted her as saying:
“We have made a mistake and we need to do something about it.
“If we had known then what we know now, we wouldn’t have allowed this.
“It’s not just ruining the high street, it’s ruining people’s lives.”
The
Mail reports that this is the first time that Ms Harman, who is in
charge of Labour’s gambling policy, has explicitly blamed the Labour
government for the increase in gambling.
Ms
Harman spoke out after hearing stories from people hooked on Fixed Odds
Betting Terminals (FOTNs) that encourage people to stake £100 at a time
on roulette, blackjack or poker games hoping to win £500.
“I
have received the most heart-rending letters and e-mails and calls that
I’ve ever had in 30 years of being an MP,” she said, “just saying,
“Please, do something about this. It’s ruined my life, it’s ruined my
family, it’s really dangerous.”
“And
the problem is, it’s getting worse,” she said, “that is why we need the
law changed so that something can be done about it.”
Ms Harman told the Mail that FOTBs were “bringing casinos right into the high street.”
“These
machines,” she said, “are like mini-casinos— they’re not like the small
machines you have in seaside arcades. People get addicted and lose all
their money.”
This
is a matter that has to be studied carefully. If it is decided to allow
the betting shops that we now have, they have to be strictly controlled
so that they do not grow into a greater menace than they are now.
Government
now has to decided whether to close down all local gambling, or
strictly control and tax the numbers and web shops. But the ridiculous
situation of turning a blind eye to open and defiant illegality can no
longer continue.
August 08, 2012