Premier Dr. Ewart Brown last week named a task force to take on the job of overseeing a study into gambling and then making recommendations on the issue, covering not just casino gambling, but online gambling and lotteries as well.

That's reasonably good news, since the group has been tasked with sampling public opinion on an issue that has traditionally been divisive. But it does look like the cart is in front of the horse, since the task force should have been more involved in the selection of the group conducting the study. Instead, that group was chosen by Government and some hoteliers months ago.

Dr. Brown continues to maintain that this study, by gambling consultants The Innovation Group, will be impartial, and so will the task force. It is hard not to be sceptical. The Innovation Group is intimately tied to the gambling industry, and it does not seem to have much bad to say about it; indeed its feasibility studies are often used in favour of introducing gaming in different US states, so it will be interesting to see what they come up with. The task force also appears to be fairly heavily weighted in favour of gaming. Wendell Hollis, the chairman claims not to have a strong opinion on the issue, which is unusual, but if so, it is encouraging. Tuckers Point founder Ed Trippe and Fairmont Southampton Resort chief Norman Mastalir are both likely to favour some form of casino gambling in hotels. The views of the other two members, accountant Deena Harvey and lawyer Marc Daniels, are not known.

Dr. Brown is probably right to avoid having the Government decide on the issue on its own; it's likely that the Progressive Labour Party is sharply divided on the question, and whichever way the decision goes, there will be criticism, although the lack of outcry over the proposal to allow cruise ship passengers to gamble in port suggests that gambling is less of a third rail in Bermuda politics than it used to be.

What is needed is an honest and unbiased review not just of casinos, but of the whole muddle of Bermuda's gambling laws. Whether the "scientific" study of gambling by the Innovation Group will deliver this or not remains to be seen but seems unlikely; it will be up to those members of the public who are opposed to gambling to make their views known.

Of course, there are arguments in favour of gambling, not least that it could improve tourism and would also be a useful source of revenue for the Government without having to raise taxes, but benefiting instead from people's unscientific belief that they can somehow beat the odds. The commission, if it comes out in support of hotel casinos, will also have to make a recommendation on whether residents should be allowed to participate as well as visitors.

There are stronger arguments in favour of a lottery, where at least the chances of people gambling away the rent are a little lower, and where the proceeds can fund sports organisations and worthy causes.

Online gambling seems to be capable of raising large amounts of revenue for the Government with little pressure on the local infrastructure. But given that the US has been embroiled with the government of Antigua over this very issue for some years, one wonders if Bermuda needs to run up that particular red flag at this time.

But the arguments against gaming are also strong. Aside from the moral questions, the damage to individuals and families from gambling addictions is well documented and, in the US anyway, it is those who can least afford to gamble who are most likely to do so.

The task force also needs to examine closely whether the proceeds from gambling would remain in Bermuda or would go abroad, and it will also have to look carefully at how crime and corruption tend to rise around legalised gambling. While the primary argument in favour of gambling is that it will help tourism, there is an opposite argument to be made as well; that Bermuda is different because it doesn't have gambling. In a world where hotel resorts are often homogeneous, that counts for a lot.