Customers buying lottery in downtown Kingston yesterday.
-Norman Grindley photo
Earl Moxam, Senior Gleaner Writer
THE GOVERNMENT, through the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC), is currently engaged in a comprehensive review of the regulations governing the gaming sector.
According to Fitz Jackson, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, the review is critical as the authorities seek to strengthen the regulatory framework and increase the state's take from the gaming sector.
GAMING ONLY
Mr. Jackson emphasised, however, that the rules being contemplated relate specifically to gaming lounges and not to casinos, which are currently not allowed under law.
"As far as we are concerned we are not pursuing regulatory development in terms of casinos. We are considering a regulatory framework for gaming machines. Should the Government make a decision on casinos we would already have the basic regulatory infrastructure in place; we would just have to expand it to facilitate casinos," he told The Sunday Gleaner.
The Government, in the meantime, has mandated the BGLC to undertake a review of casino operations in other jurisdictions as it contemplates the possibility of moving away from its longstanding opposition to this form of entertainment/economic activity.
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, at a briefing with journalists on April 2, confirmed that the review had been ordered.
That decision had been made in part, the Prime Minister conceded, because of the seeming contradiction between allowing the operation of gaming rooms, which have some of the features of a casino, while maintaining the ban on casinos.
In the meantime, the BGLC has placed a moratorium on granting licences for any additional gaming rooms. The main reason for that, Mr. Jackson explained, was to facilitate the introduction of airtight regulations and enforcement mechanisms to ensure that patrons are not cheated, and to increase the Government's revenue intake.
Hitherto, the Government has not earned much from licensed gaming rooms. Each operator is currently required to pay the state a licensing fee of $10,000 per machine; $2,000 for a regulatory fee and $500 for an inspection sticker for each machine.
Now, however, the Patterson Administration is signalling its intention to increase its take from the gaming rooms and other forms of gambling which, in total, generate an annual turnover of $18 billion-$19 billion.
INCREASE INTAKE
That amount of money will pale in comparison to the money that will be generated by full-scale casinos, according to Winston Dear, one of the leading casino advocates of the past two decades in Jamaica.
"The economic benefits outweigh the economic cost in Canada the net economic benefit was US$3.4 billion in 1995, up from US$526 million in 1990. Government revenue there increased from US$100 million in 1970 to US$1.5 billion in 1995, and in Australia, their gambling industry contributes US$5.5 billion annually to GDP; the US generates US$34 billion in annual sales," he told The Sunday Gleaner.
Having done his own extensive research into the matter, Mr. Dear already has figures at the ready in support of the establishment of casinos. By his estimation it would cost US$55 million to US$65 million to build a casino with hotel and accompanying entertainment facilities.
"In the first year of operation the turnover from each operation should be around US$40 million and a percentage of that for the Government would be US$4 million to US$5 million, i.e. 10-12 per cent of the annual earnings would go to Government," he said.
Mr. Dear, currently the president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce, was initially an advocate of stand-alone casinos.
Now, however, he believes this is not likely to be the option sanctioned.
He is, therefore, recommending one major hotel/casino (with a thousand new rooms) be licensed in each of the country's main tourist resort areas Negril, Montego Bay, plus the capital, Kingston, and, eventually, Port Antonio.
DECISION PENDING
"There should be a provision that whoever gets a licence it would also have to build accompanying facilities like restaurants and entertainment facilities, which would not be part of the all-inclusive provisions of the hotel. This would allow guests from other hotels to use the facility. It's a growing trend in the states where they build a huge entertainment centre so that the whole family can go and the children can have their own forms of entertainment," he added.
While the Government is seeking to further regulate and increase its revenue intake from the current proliferation of gaming rooms, Mr. Dear does not believe these facilities should be encouraged beyond the introduction of casinos.
"We would have to give them a grandfather clause that allows them to operate for a while but not allow them to become casinos. Otherwise we risk having a number of small casinos without the accompanying facilities," he warned.
As for when a decision might be made on the casino question, Fitz Jackson, maintains that while much has been gleaned in favour of that option, "We believe there is more to be learnt in order to arrive at a decision, taking into consideration all the concerns of Jamaicans."
