Former Premier Sir John Swan yesterday said the legalisation of casinos could help stop Hamilton becoming a ghost town.

Sir John gave his backing to a feasibility study into gambling and a possible national lottery in Bermuda — although there has been a mixed reaction from the rest of the community.

The AME and Seventh-day Adventist churches have reiterated their anti-gambling stances, with AME pastor and Progressive Labour Party branch chairman Rev. Leroy Bean criticising Government for failing to garner public opinion before spending $180,000 of taxpayers' money on the Innovation Group survey.

Support for gambling has come from Chamber of Commerce boss Philip Barnett and entertainer Tony Brannon, who say it could boost Bermuda's struggling tourism industry.

Sir John said relaxing gambling laws had been discussed during his own premiership, but at the time nobody wanted to talk about it, while back then the opposition from churches was more fierce.

"I'm in favour of it because I think that could do something for the waterfront development in Hamilton," Sir John told The Royal Gazette.

"Hamilton has been affected by cruise boats, that's impacting. What we don't want to see is Hamilton become a ghost town day or night, particularly night time.

"My hope is that it will get a fair hearing and it will be viewed in the context of the world we live in by the ordinary person and leaders of the community, in particular the church."

Sir John said the church could be consulted over possible restrictions to safeguard society from the pitfalls of gambling.

He added: "I like the approach that's been used — an investigative process to look at the possibilities. Bermudians should participate, particularly if it's a transparent process.

"The economic world is changing very fast. It doesn't look like it's beneficial to us as much as it was in the past. We want to restore one of the pillars of our economy: tourism."

Mr. Barnett said gambling could be part of a complete re-look at the tourism product rather than a silver bullet on its own, as some have described it.

"I'm not advocating we move to a New Jersey- or Las Vegas-style gambling structure with gigantic casinos," he said.

"The style of gaming we would look at would be a little less about the clang, clang, clang of slot machines, but more social games like blackjack, roulette, craps and poker. That would encourage groups of people to congregate and talk together.

"It's important these gaming areas are done in a very classy way to encourage groups to stay at larger hotels. That would be a component of their vacation.

"Our problem in Bermuda is when it rains there's not a lot to do anymore."

Mr. Brannon called for pro-gambling legislation to be rushed through as quickly as possible. He spoke to this newspaper on the telephone from Aruba, where he said he was at a beach tennis tournament and enjoying a buzz currently missing in Bermuda.

"The place is rocking; the place is happening; Bermuda has long lost that," said Mr. Brannon.

"In Bermuda, Hamilton is dead and the hotels are dead. If they were smart, by the 2009 season, Fairmont Southampton and Elbow Beach would have a casino."

He said Government should give tax incentives in the initial period to encourage people to set up casinos.

Rev. Bean, of Transfiguration Ministries and the PLP's Hamilton East branch, said: "I view gambling as unscriptural. I don't believe Government or anyone else should basically promote it.

"Personally, I believe that they need to first of all have more community meetings, inform the public exactly what's transpiring, before they even make the initiative to use Government funds.

"I do understand that Government basically is representing the people. I believe that they need to respect the people before a decision like that is made. To not do that is to do an injustice to the people."

Rev. Bean had been picked by the PLP's St. George's South branch as a candidate in last year's General Election, only for Philip Perinchief to be selected instead to make an ultimately unsuccessful challenge for the seat.

AME presiding elder Rev. Malcolm Eve said he did not know of any proposed protests, but added: "Our stand is what we gave following our annual conference. The stand we have against that (gaming) doesn't change."

Jeffrey Brown, president of the Bermuda Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, said: "We recognise we are in a war. This is not a war on terror. It is not the so-called bad people that we are fearful of, it is the silence of so-called good people.

"The task of the church is to strengthen the moral fibre of the community. It is to empower families, support schools, and pray for Government leaders. It opposes activities and lifestyles which threaten to erode sanity of the mind, safety of the society, and sanctity of the family. Therefore drugs, violence, and perverse lifestyles are opposed by the church.

"While the Seventh-day Adventist Church vehemently opposes gambling in all its forms, it is not against an open forum where gambling can be defined and discussed."