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Bahamian Leader Calls for National Dialogue on Gambling
NASSAU, BAHAMAS --
Bahamian law has long allowed tourists to gamble at the casinos located in the islands, while refusing that privilege to all residents. But a growing casino black market industry has led even opponents of gambling expansion to demand an open discussion on the future of gaming in the Bahamas.
Perry Christie, one-time Bahamian Prime Minister and present Opposition leader, told the Bahama Journal the time has come to review the nation's gambling laws and modernize them.
"This is a matter that you cannot postpone for any length of time because so many people are engaged in gambling," says Christie. He acknowledges that, by outlawing gambling for residents, the government has created a "hidden economy," in which hundreds of people are employed by illegal numbers houses.
A country cannot sit idly by while thousands of its people are engaged in an illegal practice, which has become a part of a culture, while the establishment treats it as an illegal activity without addressing it," Christie said.
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham has said existing gambling bans are unenforceable, and that he would consider legalizing gambling to bring the numbers houses within the folds of government.
Even Christie, a gaming opponent, pointed out the difficulty in telling wealthy foreigners who take up residency in the islands they cannot gamble in the country. "I think that it is going to be required that all of us in public life address this issue one way or the other."
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