A gaming operator who had been considering investing in Bermuda “shied away” because of the behaviour of some local politicians.

Speaking earlier this week, Richard Schuetz, the executive director for the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission, said the body was puzzled that it was criticised for approaching casino operators about investing in the island.

“For reasons we still don’t understand, people were upset that we were trying to get world-class brands to visit the island,” he said.

“They are saying we shouldn’t be talking to operators, but these statements are coming from people who have never worked in the industry, never regulated the industry and are very unfamiliar with it.

“At least one of the groups who had been contemplating a major development, an investment that could have meant hundreds of jobs, kind of shied away because they were very confused about how certain politicians were behaving.”

He compared the criticism to someone working to build a computing industry on the island being chided for approaching Apple and Microsoft, saying: “It didn’t make sense to us.

“Our goal is to create jobs here, and if folks want to help us that’s great, but to continue to make statements that don’t make a lot of sense to those in the world of business and regulation is unfortunate.” Asked about the identity of the operator, he declined to name them saying the situation remained “fluid”.

Mr Schuetz said the commission had made progress in producing amendments to Bermuda gaming legislation, but that changes of minister had caused the process to be slowed.

“The process was disrupted by having Shawn Crockwell resign right about when he was ready to give our amendments to the House,” he said. “We then had Grant Gibbons and now we have Michael Fahy, and all of those resets just ate up an enormous amount of time. A lot of the last year has been slowed down by changes in government.”

However, he said a series of amendments were hoped to be debated before the end of the year to produce a more efficient model without diminishing the system’s integrity.

“I think they will be discussed in December,” he said. “We are looking forward to it. We are putting through 41 amendments, and in each and every case we can justify that it is cheaper, more efficient, quicker to market and makes it business friendly.

“Our old timeline was to be done with the amendments and the rate package by right about now and be launching the request for proposal.

“We now hope to get the amendment package passed in November or December, get our regulations passed by March and be launching the request for proposal in April or May.

“That’s assuming everything falls right, but things haven’t always been falling right for us so far.

“These things take time, and they take time because they need to be done right. We get one chance to make a first impression and if we miss it, it is a serious black eye to this island. If we miss it with the controls, we jeopardise our banking reputation on this island, and that’s serious.”

Mr Schuetz said that the commission is in the process of considering two further applications for properties to be named designated sites, which would make them eligible to apply for a casino licence.

With the Hamilton Princess and the St George’s hotel project already listed as designated sites, four properties could potentially be competing for three licences — but Mr Schuetz said it was possible that less than three properties are granted licences initially.

“I think if there are three spectacular projects, then the commissioner will probably go for the three, but we may have to make some decisions about if we should learn to walk before we run,” he said.

“I’m not saying this is going to happen, but I can envision a scenario where we announce a site, open it and make sure that we have got it right and they have got it right before we go further.

“A lot of it may also depend on the operator. If we have an experienced operator, then that’s a fundamentally different situation than if we don’t. There are a lot of factors that need to be considered.”