The Tribune

By PASTOR CEDRIC MOSS

On Monday, January 7, Philip Galanis, a co-ordinator of Vote Yes Bahamas, used his weekly column to lobby for a “yes” vote in the upcoming gambling referendum.

As one of the many Bahamians who believe that a “no” vote will make for a better Bahamas, I thought I would respond to what appears to be Mr Galanis’s two best arguments for a “yes” vote.

Last week, I responded to the first, his religious argument. Today, I address the second, his economic argument.

Mr Galanis begins his economic argument with this foundational, but factually dubious, statement: “The web shops, by their own admission, account for an annual turnover of $300 to $400 million and employ more than 3,000 Bahamians, arguably our third largest industry after tourism and financial services.”

To his credit, Mr Galanis attributes his grandiose turnover and employment estimates to the web shop owners themselves, but I’m surprised that as an experienced auditor he accepts these unverified numbers from individuals who have much to lose if a majority “no” vote prevails on the web shops question. Naturally, the web shop owners have good reason to inflate their turnover and employment numbers, and I’m surprised that Mr Galanis does not even seem to entertain this as a possibility. He takes them at their word and bases his economic argument for a “yes” vote on it.

However, even if web shop gambling contributes to the economy as Mr Galanis purports, his economic analysis is still woefully defective because he does not take into account the personal and societal costs of gambling (especially web shop gambling) and the parasitic effect that it has on legitimate businesses that produce goods and services.

How is it that Mr Galanis does not even hint at gambling addiction, gambling crime, and the social fallout that governments, churches, and other charitable organisations have to fund as a result?

Why does he not mention the fact that the vast majority of people who engage in web shop gambling are those who have no discretionary income so they divert money that should go towards purchasing necessary goods and services to fund their gambling habits, thus harming legitimate businesses that would have otherwise been patronised?

Mr Galanis’s article comes across as a paid advertisement for the “wonders” of gambling, and it reminds me of the tobacco and liquor commercials: they never show you lung cancer patients, alcoholics, and the familial and societal destruction behind what they are urging people to indulge in.

Mr Galanis is campaigning for a “yes” vote (and I suspect he and others involved are being paid), so I expect him to try to tell us how wonderful legalised web shops will be for our economy. That’s his job. However, leading businessman Franklyn Wilson and economist James Smith disagree with Mr Galanis’s claims of the economic benefit of gambling.

According to Mr Wilson, “There is no economic benefit to gambling to truly create meaningful economic activity.”

Similarly, Mr Smith asserts, “Gambling is not really economic activity. It doesn’t create value. Ten people in a room gambling is just $100. It’s just money changing hands.”

Yet, Mr Galanis would have us to believe that gambling is economically beneficial.

The truth is that gambling (especially web shop gambling) is a first cousin of stealing because the bottom line difference between them is this: whether a number falls or not.

However, in both activities, no goods are delivered, and no services are rendered. In the cases of both gambling and stealing the person who parts with his money receives nothing in return, and the person who takes the money gives nothing in return.

Such empty exchanges are not economic activity, despite Mr Galanis’s enticing claims. In fact, they harm the economy.

Hopefully, voters will see Mr Galanis’s so called economic argument for what it is and vote “no” to gambling, and especially against web shop gambling. It will make for a better Bahamas.