Lotteries commission chairman confirmed EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN of the Betting, Gaming & Lotteries Commission (BGLC), Mr. John Thompson, was confirmed in his post on October 12, by Finance Minister Dr. Omar Davies. Mr. Thompson is mandated to restructure and reorganise the Commission to better regulate the betting, gaming and lotteries industry. To this end, the BGLC will be retraining existing and hiring new staff, upgrading its computer network and instituting tighter systems to monitor its licences. Mr. Thompson said the changes underway will enable the Commission to better deal with the increasing activities of its licensees and the more sophisticated business environment in which they operate. "The lottery companies in particular are introducing new systems to the industry. G-Tech, which is the largest service provider for lotteries and gaming in the United States (US), is on board with Supreme Ventures and Scientific Games, another US company, which is the service provider for the Jamaica Lottery Company. "In addition, aspects of sophisticated gaming like daily lotteries are now part of the Jamaican landscape. The Commission must ensure that at the very least it develops apace with its licensees," the chairman said. To this end, Mr. Thompson will be visiting the gaming Board of Great Britain (GBGB) from October 20-28, to establish links to facilitate information transfer and training. During the week-long visits he will observe operations at various facilities licensed by the GBGB. Mr. Thompson has been a commercial lawyer for more than 20 years and has extensive experience in both the private and public sectors. He was trained as an industrial relations lawyer during his employment at Myers, Fletcher & Gordon and was part of the government's team negotiating the privatisation of Air Jamaica. He served on a number of public sector Boards, including the Financial Institution Services Board, the Board of Mutual Life during the FINSAC intervention period and the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica. In the early 1990s he was a special adviser to the Prime Minister and was legal counsel to the National Investment Bank of Jamaica (NIBJ). Mr. Thompson's appointment is for one year and he will oversee the BGLC with fellow commissioners, Mr. Dennis Chung, Mr. Leighton Coke, Mr. Vaughn Goodison, Mr. Howard Molliston, Mrs. Sonia Rickards and Mr. Courtney Williams. The Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission has as its main duties protecting the betting and gaming public and safeguarding government's revenue from these activities. It licenses and regulates lotteries, racing promoter Caymanas Track Ltd., Off Track betting agents, bookmakers and operators of prize promotions as well as gaming machine operators.
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