Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
THE BETTING, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC) is threatening to destroy 144 unregistered gaming machines in their possession if their owners do not pay the relevant fees to have the machines released.
Each machine attracts fees in excess of $12,500 and includes a levy of $10,000 per annum for each machine, an annual fee of $2,500 payable to the
commission. The cost of transportation and storage for each machine is to be calculated by the commission.
The commission placed an advertisement in the most recent publication of The Sunday Gleaner, July 10, 2005, outlining the options available to owners. According to Wayne Stewart, a director of BGLC, the advertisement was taken out as a last resort.
"They had all opportunity to come in and pay for the machines. The law is with us ... we got our authorisation from the courts," he said.
PAYING STORAGE FEES
Some of the machines were seized as far back as two years ago, and Mr. Stewart said that his administration refuses to pay any more storage fees for the illegal machines.
"It is costing the commission a great deal for storage and transportation of these machines," explained Derek Peart, executive director of BGLC. He revealed that to date it has cost BGLC approximately $1 million to construct a storage facility and $40,000 in rental charges for a facility it acquired four months ago.
Mr. Peart told The Gleaner that in 2003 BGLC embarked on an education campaign geared towards informing operators of the legal requirements governing ownership and the operation of gaming machines, and the consequences of not meeting the same.
700 ILLEGAL MACHINES SEIZED
Hot on the heels of that campaign, he said, was a crusade that resulted in the seizure of approximately 700 illegal machines. Since then, most of the operators have regularised their situations, but the owners of the 144 machines seized have remained delinquent.
"Not a thing will be kept by the commission, because we have no need to," Mr. Peart stressed.
None of the owners had contacted the commission since the advertisement was published.
Mr. Peart could not say what was the value of the 144 machines but insisted that nothing will be spared if the necessary fees were not paid.
He added that his administration has already contacted the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) seeking its expertise and heavy-duty equipment to destroy the machines.
