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
thenassauguardian
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.
Showing posts with label legalization of gambling for Bahamians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label legalization of gambling for Bahamians. Show all posts
Monday, June 7, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The Government's Missed Opportunity on Legalized Gambling for Bahamians
Missed opportunity on gambling
thenassauguardian editorial:
In democratic societies, laws exist with the consent of the people. Without that consent, no law can be enforced. It can even be argued that no law is legitimate if the people do not support it.
It is clear from the large number of number houses that openly operate in The Bahamas that a significant number of Bahamians want to gamble.
The number houses advertise in the media, they donate to state agencies, they announce the numbers of the day on television and some have corporate offices in the center of Nassau.
Yet we as a nation still seek to run away from the logical position that the law should be changed, allowing Bahamians to gamble.
Keeping rules in place that cannot be enforced sends the message that people can defy the law, and there are no consequences to this defiance.
And yet again, the church is standing in the way of logic and reasonableness.
Gambling is legal in many parts of the United States. Its unemployment rate is around 10 percent. Gambling is legal in Canada. Its unemployment rate is around 8 percent.
Gambling is illegal for Bahamians and our unemployment rate is near 15 percent. The legalization of gambling has not destroyed those countries and caused mass poverty.
The church has a right to advocate its position. It should not be allowed to dictate policy, however.
The government is in financial crisis. It has to borrow to meet its responsibilities.
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham says they project that the government could take in $30 to 40 million in tax revenue from a fully legalized gambling business.
Having backed down largely from the threat of going to war with local clerics, where now is the government going to get this revenue from in a time of financial crisis?
The church won't provide the funds. Its operations are virtually tax-free. Governments of The Bahamas have also given churches deep concessionary rates on the purchase of Crown land for their operations.
Instead of bringing this industry into the open and taxing number bosses who make millions annually, and those who wish to play, the government will now hike taxes in other areas to compensate for the lost revenue.
The prime minister missed an opportunity to end this decades long debate on gambling with decisive action. However, his announcement that the Free National Movement will commit to a referendum offers some hope.
If the FNM wins the next general election, and the referendum takes place, right thinking Bahamians need to make sure their voices are heard on this issue once and for all.
Those who do not want to gamble do not have to. This is a free society.
Bahamians should be free to choose how they wish to spend their money on reasonable activities just as church leaders are free to spend church funds on what they wish to.
May 26, 2010
thenassauguardian
thenassauguardian editorial:
In democratic societies, laws exist with the consent of the people. Without that consent, no law can be enforced. It can even be argued that no law is legitimate if the people do not support it.
It is clear from the large number of number houses that openly operate in The Bahamas that a significant number of Bahamians want to gamble.
The number houses advertise in the media, they donate to state agencies, they announce the numbers of the day on television and some have corporate offices in the center of Nassau.
Yet we as a nation still seek to run away from the logical position that the law should be changed, allowing Bahamians to gamble.
Keeping rules in place that cannot be enforced sends the message that people can defy the law, and there are no consequences to this defiance.
And yet again, the church is standing in the way of logic and reasonableness.
Gambling is legal in many parts of the United States. Its unemployment rate is around 10 percent. Gambling is legal in Canada. Its unemployment rate is around 8 percent.
Gambling is illegal for Bahamians and our unemployment rate is near 15 percent. The legalization of gambling has not destroyed those countries and caused mass poverty.
The church has a right to advocate its position. It should not be allowed to dictate policy, however.
The government is in financial crisis. It has to borrow to meet its responsibilities.
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham says they project that the government could take in $30 to 40 million in tax revenue from a fully legalized gambling business.
Having backed down largely from the threat of going to war with local clerics, where now is the government going to get this revenue from in a time of financial crisis?
The church won't provide the funds. Its operations are virtually tax-free. Governments of The Bahamas have also given churches deep concessionary rates on the purchase of Crown land for their operations.
Instead of bringing this industry into the open and taxing number bosses who make millions annually, and those who wish to play, the government will now hike taxes in other areas to compensate for the lost revenue.
The prime minister missed an opportunity to end this decades long debate on gambling with decisive action. However, his announcement that the Free National Movement will commit to a referendum offers some hope.
If the FNM wins the next general election, and the referendum takes place, right thinking Bahamians need to make sure their voices are heard on this issue once and for all.
Those who do not want to gamble do not have to. This is a free society.
Bahamians should be free to choose how they wish to spend their money on reasonable activities just as church leaders are free to spend church funds on what they wish to.
May 26, 2010
thenassauguardian
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The Governing Free National Movement (FNM) MPs support legalized gambling
By Jasmin Bonimy ~ Guardian Staff Reporter ~ jasmin@nasguard.com:
There is widespread support within the Free National Movement's parliamentary group for the legalization of gambling for Bahamians, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham confirmed yesterday, but he made it clear that no final decision has been made on the controversial issue as yet.
Speaking to reporters outside the Cabinet Office in downtown Nassau, Ingraham said he has already consulted several groups on the matter, including the Free National Movement's Central Council and members of his parliamentary team.
He added that he also informed Opposition Leader Perry Christie and Bain and Grants Town Member of Parliament Dr. Bernard Nottage that the government is considering the matter.
"I have also met with the Christian Council," he said. "I told them that we have not made a final decision but that the matter was being considered and that I would get back to them when we would have further discussed the matter and arrived on a conclusion. But generally speaking there has been great support among the parliamentary group and the council of the FNM for the regularization of the numbers business."
Additionally, Ingraham told reporters that legalizing gambling for Bahamians could generate substantial revenues for the government.
"The chickens aren't hatched yet. I'm not counting the chickens yet. But if the government did so we would expect to get significant revenue from the operation," Ingraham said.
In the past, the prime minister has said that legalizing gambling was not a part of his third term's legislative agenda - which began when his party won the 2007 general election. However, Ingraham also noted that he would not stand in the way of changing the country's gaming laws.
While a new legislative agenda will be announced when Parliament reopens today, it is unclear if the government plans to include legalizing gambling for Bahamians in the Speech from the Throne, which will be read by the new Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes.
"The government has been considering the question, as to whether or not we will bring in the formal economy of The Bahamas an operation that tens of thousands of Bahamians are engaged in on a daily basis," said Ingraham.
"I've made previous public comments about this and I will refer to my distress and discomfort of our inability to be able to police our laws with respect to the numbers business."
Over the years the Bahamas Christian Council and the Bahamas Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention both have expressed strong opposition to gambling.
Despite its history of opposition to legalized gambling for Bahamians, Ingraham insisted that he is not placing special emphasis on the Christian Council's opinion on the matter.
"We're not placing weight on anyone," he said. "We are consulting and getting the views of others. We know the views of some. We know the views of others and we are not so certain about the views of some people. But at the end of the day it is our decision to make one way or the other."
The views of some of Ingraham's Cabinet ministers on the issue have also been made public since the FNM won the 2007 general election.
In 2008 National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest said that he thinks there should be a referendum to answer the gambling question once and for all.
In June 2009, Minister of Health Dr. Hubert Minnis went on record saying that he supported the legalization of the local "numbers business" — which is a form of lottery gambling. His comments were made at the time when debate had heated up over the legalization of gambling for Bahamians and legal residents, after the arrest of businessman Craig Flowers a month earlier. One of the shops that fall under Flowers' FML Group of Companies was raided by police and Flowers and some of his staff arrested. They were later charged in a magistrate's court with various gambling offenses. During the heated debate labor unions, employers' associations and business leaders also came out in support of the legalization of various forms of gambling for Bahamians and legal residents.
In May 2009 President of The Bahamas Hotel Association (BHA) Robert Sands told The Nassau Guardian that his organization supports a national lottery and amending the country's gaming laws to allow legal foreign residents to gamble in casinos. The BHA does not support legalizing casino gambling for Bahamians.
President of the National Congress of Trade Unions of The Bahamas (NCTUB) John Pinder also said the organization supports a national lottery.
Former president of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce Dionisio D'Aguilar told The Nassau Guardian that there is a consensus among business people that a public lottery should be allowed.
April 14, 2010
thenassauguardian
There is widespread support within the Free National Movement's parliamentary group for the legalization of gambling for Bahamians, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham confirmed yesterday, but he made it clear that no final decision has been made on the controversial issue as yet.
Speaking to reporters outside the Cabinet Office in downtown Nassau, Ingraham said he has already consulted several groups on the matter, including the Free National Movement's Central Council and members of his parliamentary team.
He added that he also informed Opposition Leader Perry Christie and Bain and Grants Town Member of Parliament Dr. Bernard Nottage that the government is considering the matter.
"I have also met with the Christian Council," he said. "I told them that we have not made a final decision but that the matter was being considered and that I would get back to them when we would have further discussed the matter and arrived on a conclusion. But generally speaking there has been great support among the parliamentary group and the council of the FNM for the regularization of the numbers business."
Additionally, Ingraham told reporters that legalizing gambling for Bahamians could generate substantial revenues for the government.
"The chickens aren't hatched yet. I'm not counting the chickens yet. But if the government did so we would expect to get significant revenue from the operation," Ingraham said.
In the past, the prime minister has said that legalizing gambling was not a part of his third term's legislative agenda - which began when his party won the 2007 general election. However, Ingraham also noted that he would not stand in the way of changing the country's gaming laws.
While a new legislative agenda will be announced when Parliament reopens today, it is unclear if the government plans to include legalizing gambling for Bahamians in the Speech from the Throne, which will be read by the new Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes.
"The government has been considering the question, as to whether or not we will bring in the formal economy of The Bahamas an operation that tens of thousands of Bahamians are engaged in on a daily basis," said Ingraham.
"I've made previous public comments about this and I will refer to my distress and discomfort of our inability to be able to police our laws with respect to the numbers business."
Over the years the Bahamas Christian Council and the Bahamas Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention both have expressed strong opposition to gambling.
Despite its history of opposition to legalized gambling for Bahamians, Ingraham insisted that he is not placing special emphasis on the Christian Council's opinion on the matter.
"We're not placing weight on anyone," he said. "We are consulting and getting the views of others. We know the views of some. We know the views of others and we are not so certain about the views of some people. But at the end of the day it is our decision to make one way or the other."
The views of some of Ingraham's Cabinet ministers on the issue have also been made public since the FNM won the 2007 general election.
In 2008 National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest said that he thinks there should be a referendum to answer the gambling question once and for all.
In June 2009, Minister of Health Dr. Hubert Minnis went on record saying that he supported the legalization of the local "numbers business" — which is a form of lottery gambling. His comments were made at the time when debate had heated up over the legalization of gambling for Bahamians and legal residents, after the arrest of businessman Craig Flowers a month earlier. One of the shops that fall under Flowers' FML Group of Companies was raided by police and Flowers and some of his staff arrested. They were later charged in a magistrate's court with various gambling offenses. During the heated debate labor unions, employers' associations and business leaders also came out in support of the legalization of various forms of gambling for Bahamians and legal residents.
In May 2009 President of The Bahamas Hotel Association (BHA) Robert Sands told The Nassau Guardian that his organization supports a national lottery and amending the country's gaming laws to allow legal foreign residents to gamble in casinos. The BHA does not support legalizing casino gambling for Bahamians.
President of the National Congress of Trade Unions of The Bahamas (NCTUB) John Pinder also said the organization supports a national lottery.
Former president of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce Dionisio D'Aguilar told The Nassau Guardian that there is a consensus among business people that a public lottery should be allowed.
April 14, 2010
thenassauguardian
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