Junior Minster of Home Affairs Sylvan Richards has suggested that a change in marriage laws could create extra revenue for the Bermuda Government, after figures showed an increase in civil ceremonies.

Of the 509 marriages performed last year, 118 were civil marriages and the remaining 77 per cent religious.

Marriages in Bermuda cannot be performed by a justice of the peace as in other jurisdictions and Mr Richards moved that all government-owned properties be opened up for non-religious ceremonies to further increase funds to the department.

He said that Bermuda remained a popular location for marriage ceremonies — figures show more than 60 per cent of ceremonies were visitors to the island.

Mr Richards also asked the House of Assembly for consideration within the electronic communications plans to use the “.bm” domain as a source of revenue.

Domain names were previously registered without charge and he said they could create a niche market for domain name registration with “.bm” being marketed as the name of choice.

With more than 9,000 .bm domain names, he suggested promoting it as a national resource for local and international businesses seeking the “Bermuda market” acronym.

He said this was a vital change so that “Bermuda remains a place where creativity and talent may thrive”.