The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Gaming Board is aiming to reduce the need to maintain a physical presence inside casinos through investing in technology that will allow it to remotely monitor gaming activities, it was revealed yesterday.

Meanwhile, Dr Andre Rollins, the Board’s chairman, described gaming revenues over the past few years as being “pretty much static”.

With gross annual gaming revenues of around $145 million, Dr Rollins said the new gaming legislation that the Government is looking to introduce will go a long way in boosting the Bahamas’ earnings.

Speaking at the official launch of Atlantis and Cantor Gaming’s $5 million race and sports book, Dr Rollins said: “We have begun, and will continue to be investing in, new technology that will permit remote monitoring so that we will not be in need of as much physical presence.

“We will have the capability at the Gaming Board’s office for a remote monitoring system to allow us to see what’s going on in all of the casinos throughout the Bahamas.

“Whereas in the past we may have put emphasis on gaming inspectors, there is not as much of an emphasis being placed on that as a result of the recommendations made by external consultants.”

Dr Rollins said that with revamped gaming legislation, the Bahamas could ultimately begin to position itself as a significant player in the market.

“Gaming revenues have pretty much been static,”he conceded. “They have really been flat, so to speak, for the past few years. We haven’t seen any measurable improvement in our performance. That is why operators like Atlantis are really doing the jurisdiction a service by investing in their product to make it fresher and more modern to appeal to a more discerning public.

“I’m hopeful that the Bahamas will become a major player, not just in mobile gaming but also Internet gaming. I’m anticipating that the legislation will have that as a component to permit the operators here currently, and some not yet here, to want to come to the Bahamas to be able to improve their bottom lines.”

Dr Rollins added: “Sports wagering is a significant area of growth in gaming. It accounts for $300 billion of gaming in the US. A lot of it is done outside the regulated entities. You have a large black market for gaming in the United States.

“Through legislation that is under consideration at this time, the Bahamas could position itself to assist our neighbours and the world in having a well-policed, gaming regime that would allow our country to be take advantage of all that money being put into the black market.

“I think that Cantor Gaming, in partnership with Atlantis, is definitely on the verge of taking advantage of the huge promise that sports wagering presents, and its long-term success will be dependent on Cabinet passing legislation that is advanced and more mindful of the direction that gaming is going, as opposed to being saddled with very archaic legislation that really doesn’t give gaming operators a competitive advantage.”