The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas is forecast to receive an extra 200,000 visitors per year as a result of reforms to casino gaming legislation, a Cabinet minister said yesterday.

Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe, addressing the House of Assembly yesterday, conceded revenue on existing casino games had been on the decline.

“We were seeing around $20 million in taxes but that has declined,” he added. “Our new Bill hopes to change that. According to our experts we are expecting some 200,000 extra visitors to come to the Bahamas because of the new legislation pertaining to casino gaming.”

The Government tabled the Gaming Bill in Parliament last week. It will allow Bahamian casinos to employ the latest technology to offer cutting-edge games, such as on-property sports betting, in-play wagering, Internet wagering, proxy wagering and online gaming via cell phones and computers.

There will also be incentives for ‘junket’ group visits. Proxy wagering allows players to place a bet without physically being on site, via proxy and technical aids, while mobile gaming allows hotel guests to place a bet from anywhere on the hotel property via cell phones. The Bill will also allow sports betting wagers to be accepted even after the game has started.

Mr Wilchcombe said modernisation of the country’s casino gaming legislation was absolutely necessary. “We are doing so because we must. We must do so to remain competitive. With all the new developments with respect to gaming, the Bahamas must move in that direction. The competitive advantage, we will have it again once the law is passed. With the new law, the new games, the new offerings, casinos will be able to expand and we will be able to return to that competitive advantage,” said Mr Wilchcombe.

The tourism minister said the Government was expecting “big things” to happen with casino gaming going forward, particularly with the anticipated opening of the Baha Mar resort and its casino next year.

Robert Sands, Baha Mar’s senior vice-president of government and external affairs, told Tribune Business in a recent interview that the legislation, which was the first comprehensive overhaul of the Bahamas’ casino gaming legislation for 45 years, was “absolutely critical” to the $3.5 billion project’s success.