Computers will not become illegal on July 1 if they were not created for the purpose of playing games of chance, to win money or money's worth, Attorney General Larry Mussenden said yesterday.

The Prohibition of Gaming Machines Amendment Act 2004 came under fire this week from lawyers who said it outlawed "every computer ever created in the history of the world".

However, last night Sen. Mussenden said several provisions in the Act have to be read together, and the starting point is what the machine is constructed for.

Most people, he added, would not consider average desktop or laptop computers etc. as machines constructed for the purpose of playing a game of chance to win money or money's worth. Should there be any dispute over that regarding an individual machine, that case can be taken to court and argued either before a magistrate or a Supreme Court judge and jury.

Of course, Mr. Mussenden said, once the matter goes to court the punishments for those who are deemed to be contravening the Act are severe. A person convicted of playing a gaming machine for money or money's worth could be fined up to $1,000 in Magistrates' Court, while those convicted of supplying, selling or importing such machines could be fined up to $100,000 in Magistrates' Court or $250,000 and five year imprisonment in Supreme Court.

Making the crime indictable also allows for the Proceeds of Crime Act to apply, meaning that any income a convicted person has made over the past six years could be said to have been made from criminal activity. It is then up to the offender to prove otherwise.

Government put the ban on importation to prevent any more gaming machines from entering the country, Mr. Mussenden said. As for the machines which are already popular in bars such as The Beach, however, they can remain legally in use ? so long as the players have no chance of winning money or money's worth, but are only playing "for fun".

The ban on importation also throws a stumbling block in the path of a floating casino, Mr. Mussenden said.

Vessels are free to do as they please outside Bermuda's territorial waters, he said, however if they are carrying gaming machines "once they re-enter at the 12-mile mark they are committing the offence of importation".

Since the Act does not apply to "passenger ships", which Mr. Mussenden said the Bermuda Government has designated as ships "in transit" from a port outside Bermuda to Bermuda or vice versa, then cruise ships are not considered to be breaking the law. A ship based in Bermuda taking cruises to nowhere, on the other hand, is not according to Government a passenger ship and so would be guilty of importation. "We are able to legislate what a passenger ship means for Bermuda," Mr. Mussenden said.

As for comments from members of the legal community, Mr. Mussenden said: "I do not think they are accurate but they are lawyers and they are entitled to their opinion and to advise their clients as such.

"But they should be very clear on the law in advising clients, because the penalties are very, very severe."

As for Mr. Harshaw's view that Government should have outlawed gambling itself, not the machines which allow people to do so, Mr. Mussenden again said he was entitled to his opinion.

"But the law as it stands is very clear.

"I would encourage owners of night-clubs, bars and restaurants to be prepared to abide by the law of the land ...and not put themselves or other people in a situation where they are going to commit offences.

"I would also encourage players to adjust their behaviour."