July 22, 2014

Dear Sir,

Having just read the article, ”Atlantic City doomed by glut of casinos in region”, made me ponder the following.

How many casinos will be allowed to operate locally when legislation is passed to allow them? Who will get the potentially lucrative casino license(s)?

Will locals be allowed to gamble?

Will there be restrictions placed on locals if they are allowed to gamble?

Will the owners of the casino(s) be foreign or local or a combination of both?

Will there be a fair bidding process for the casino(s) licenses?

There are many more questions that could be asked with regard to Gaming in Bermuda but I will just stick to the above.

The amount of casinos allowed could help determine whether or not it/they are financially viable. Who gets the licenses could determine whether or not the income generated remains in our local economy or goes abroad. Locals being allowed to gamble without restrictions could lead to social problems adding additional strain to our already overburdened Social Assistance programmes. The way it is determined to who gets the license(s) must be done in a fair and transparent way (not sure how that can be done), hopefully without any corrupt back room dealings. As you can see, the Gaming issue is a large and very complex one.

Personally, Iwould like to see no more than 2 licenses given so as to help ensure that after such a huge financial investment is committed there is hope of a return (a glut of one armed bandits throughout the island will have dire social consequences).

A combination of joint ownership between locals (51%) and foreign (49%) to ensure that some of the potential profits stay local. We should not allow the controlling interest to go to outside investors.We do need the expertise that foreign influences bring to set up the casino(s) however, locals would more than likely want to invest in the casino as the profits could be substantial. Perhaps consideration might be given to issue a license to only brand new entity(s), with 200-300 hotel rooms.That way we could give our construction and hospitality sectors a much needed shot in the arm.

We should try to keep up with the rest of the world and address the gaming issue, sooner rather than later. The introduction of a high end casino, similar to that in Monte Carlo could be a real shot in the arm for Bermuda. Reading articles like “The Atlantic City Doomed”, stresses that we must do it right so that there is limited negative social consequences, and at the same time, positive economic benefit. Good luck to the decision makers and to all involved!

CHANGER