GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC):
Religious bodies here announced yesterday that they will picket the National Assembly during Thursday's sitting to protest moves by the government to legalise casino gambling in Guyana.
Faith-based groups charge that government has failed to "count the social cost of this misadventure" and said they will stage the protest as part of their mass campaign to help force legislators to back off from the controversial measure.
"The saddest part of this may well be that a complicit media largely ignored or marginalised the submissions by the church ... and were deliberately silent while our children's futures were pawned off to business enterprise," the groups said in a letter to the media.
Research findings
The groups argue that according to research findings in developed countries, casino gambling spawn increased bankruptcies, suicides, gaming addictions, divorces, child abuse and child neglect, domestic violence and generalised crime.
The Gambling Prevention (Amendment) Bill which will be tabled by Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee Thursday, will seek to legalise casino gambling in Guyana, but "will not allow widespread gambling," Government Information Agency (GINA) reasoned.
"According to the amendment bill, it will bar existing hotels and resorts from establishing casinos on their premises. No more than three casino licences will be issued in each administrative region," meaning there will be 30 casino gambling establish-ments in Guyana, GINA said.
Under Section 30 of the measure, "no person other than workers and guests of the hotels or resorts shall be admitted to the casinos".
Government already held several consultations with the community and President Bharrat Jagdeo said consultative process is an important period.
He made it clear that once the bill is legislated, only tourists would be allowed to engage in casino gambling.
Casino gambling spawn increased bankruptcies, suicides, gaming addictions, divorces, child abuse and child neglect, domestic violence and generalised crime.
