The Royal Gazette's series on gambling over the past week has done a good job of laying out the risks and benefits of allowing gaming to be expanded in the community.

In the past, there has been a consensus in the community that legalising gambling is undesirable, because the problems associated with it outweigh the perceived benefits.

These include the dangers of gambling becoming an addiction and the fact that those people who are least able to afford to gamble are those who are most prone to "getting rich quick" schemes.

Some people do not have a moral objection to gambling, but are concerned that casino gambling is easy prey to organised crime and much of the money made from casinos (and yes, the house always wins in the end) does not benefit the community.

Proponents of gambling tend to fall into two camps as well. There are the "consumers" who would like to enjoy gambling without leaving home and there are those who see casinos as a key part of any rescue of the tourism industry.

Many in the latter group argue that any casinos should be restricted to tourists only, along the same lines as the Bahamas. This, of course, is anathema to local residents who like to gamble.

These arguments have been circulating in the community for decades.

They are given added urgency now because the Island's outdated gaming laws have now been circumvented by modern gaming machines and the Internet.

In addition, the tourism crisis continues to deepen, making owners and employees of the sector desperate for anything that could turn it around, while the axe is due to fall on gaming machines within the next year.

Finally, in the grand Bermuda tradition of having it both ways, the Island has always been supremely hypocritical on the subject. Gambling is banned, except for Crown and Anchor at cricket matches. And the churches, who are in the forefront of the anti-gamblers benefit from bingo, which is itself a mild form of gambling.

Historically, the Progressive Labour Party has been opposed to gambling, in large part because of the support it draws from the churches. But the PLP, as with so many things, is divided on the issue, as recent statements from Tourism Minister Renee Webb show.

This newspaper's position in recent years has been to oppose casino gambling, gambling machines and the like. But it has reluctantly supported the idea of a Government-regulated national lottery with the proceeds going to worthy community groups ranging from theatres to art galleries to sporting bodies to drugs rehabilitation.

In this way, good causes could at least benefit from the "sin" of gambling and the range and extent of the lottery could be controlled.

But before any decision is made, it would make sense for a board of inquiry or Royal Commission to look into the whole question.

While there is always a risk that any such report would be completed and then ignored, there is a wealth of opinion and a paucity of facts when it comes to gambling in Bermuda.

This is a major issue that has never been explored fully. An inquiry could look at how other jurisdictions have succeeded or failed with gambling, look at regulations, take evidence from interested parties in Bermuda, and come up with a series of recommendations on where the Island should go from here.