By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE president of a local sports federation has come out in support of government ministers who are calling for the legalisation and taxation of webshops.

Danny Sumner, president of the Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (BBFF) and regional vice-president of the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation, told The Tribune yesterday that most of his federation’s “200 or so” members favor legalising gambling.

Noting that a “couple Ministers of government have been supporting the legalization of webshops,” Mr Sumner said: “In the over 30 years that I’ve been involved in sports, sporting in the Caribbean has become very big and expensive and is a strain on governments.”

“The government’s grants for sports has dropped dramatically in the last few years. Looking at what is transpiring with gaming and webshops, the proceeds from that could go in support of social services, educational services and, of course, sporting services.”

“When we look at the number of money currently allocated to these areas, it’s not sufficient. A good example is the Red Cross, which has taken a beating in the last few years. The Ranfurly Home for Children has as well.”

Mr Sumner said additional resources aiding sports programmes could help put more Bahamian athletes on a “world class level”.

“The lack of funding to support the various sporting events hampers the continued growth in these areas,” he said, adding, “for a number of years I have been advocating for the government to introduce a sports lottery.”

Mr Sumner said he “doesn’t buy the argument” some religious leaders have been using to discourage legalising gambling.

He said there remains dissension among religious leaders about how Christians should respond to calls to legalise gambling.

“Crime is still relatively high without the legalisation of the webshops,” he said. “Closing them down would create employment issues.”

He said: “There’s nothing in the Bible that speaks against webshops or gaming in general. Churches have raffles which is a form of gaming and is big in most of the denominations.”

He claimed that 90 per cent of these members in these various churches also take part in gambling.