By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

THE government has sent a team of officials to Las Vegas to study the gaming laws and practices in place there, the minster responsible for gaming Obie Wilchcombe said yesterday.

With the date for the referendum on legalising gambling expected to be announced in a few weeks, Mr Wilchcombe said the team is not only considering how to modernise the laws we have, but also how to craft new legislation as it becomes needed in the future.

“The team is made up of members of the Bahamas Hotel Association, the Gaming Board and of course the Ministry of Tourism – all intended to ensure we are able to modernise the gaming industry in the Bahamas,” he said.

“In fact, we are giving consideration to moving from having a Gaming Board to having a Gaming Commission because of the type of games that are being introduced now and for what we are expecting to be doing in the future.

“Of course we must be competitive and to be competitive it requires us to adapt and to respond as quickly as we possibly can in this ever competitive world.”

Last month, Prime Minister Perry Christie announced that a team of consultants from the United Kingdom were hired to give “clarity” to the question of a gaming system for Bahamians.

Mr Christie also said the consultants were expected to meet with the casino side of the industry to ensure there is not conflict should gambling for Bahamians be legalised. He said a report on their findings is expected “very soon”.

The referendum will seek to ascertain the will of the Bahamian electorate as to whether a national lottery should be instituted and/or whether what are popularly referred to as web cafes or web shops should be legalised, regulated, licenced and taxed.

The Prime Minister said there will be a 30-day period between calling the referendum and the actual voting day, so that the public can be educated and informed on the issues. This will include debates, panel discussions and published position-papers.

The referendum will not extend to any other forms of gambling, including casino gambling.

All components that applied to the general election will apply to the referendum with exception that instead of voting for a particular candidate, voters will be voting on specific questions and marking an ‘X’ in either the yes or no box on the ballots.

Those eligible to vote in the last general election, whether they did so or not, will be eligible to vote in the referendum and will not need to register again, he explained.

Mr Christie said persons who were not registered for the May 7 elections, but are eligible to vote, can do so provided they register ten days before the referendum.