The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

TALL Pines MP Leslie Miller is sounding the alarm over “contentious parts” of the soon to be tabled Gaming Bill, adding that he will adamantly oppose elements of the Bill that favour foreigners over Bahamians.

Mr Miller said the Gaming Bill is on the agenda for the House of Assembly, noting that it could be tabled and debated as early as this week.

Though he said he has not seen the Bill, he expressed concerns based on what he has learned the Bill will stipulate.

“There are contentious parts of that Bill that I cannot support,” he said. “We will not sit back and allow Bahamians who have gone out there and built an industry to be disadvantaged; that’s my greatest concern.”

Mr Miller said based on his understanding, some casino operators in the Bahamas wanted Bahamians to be prevented from participating in online gambling.

“The Gaming Bill will go to the economic heart of this country,” he said, predicting that debate on it will be fiercer than recent debate on Value Added Tax (VAT) and the constitutional referendum bills which exposed tension in the PLP in the last two weeks.  

“It will be very contentious and I will speak out hard if Bahamians are disadvantaged in favour of foreigners,” he said.  

The government faced a number of setbacks while preparing to bring its much anticipated Gaming Bill to Parliament.

The Bill was originally tabled last October, but was never debated after it drew harsh criticism from former Gaming Board Chairman Dr Andre Rollins and several other PLP backbenchers.

Most recently, the revised Bill was delayed so government representatives could ensure that local banks would support a new gaming regime that would see the regulation and taxation of web shops.

Attorney General Allyson Maynard Gibson met Financial Action Tax Force (FATF) representatives last month to get feedback on the government’s proposed bill.

According to Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe, the FATF responded positively to the government’s proposed plan, though it also made recommendations that the government has since acted upon.