Bahamians so lout, they think webshops are helping the economy when infact they are destroying it lol...why u fools think in america if someone opened up a webshop without regulations in place uncle sams gives them 25 to life in prison..more money leaving the economy than whats actually circulating inside of it .. the moneys is not being use to invest in the infrastructure of the bahamas. like everyone says though knowledge is power

Actually, this guy and many of the so called "Religious leaders" are the true bandits who are raping the many idots that go to their churches, and give their last, only to have those same pastors ride around town in their fancy cars, and live in their fancy houses, and what's more funny is how the many jackass Bahamians swallow up their BS. Hmmmmmm, I wonder how many of these guys are out their picking up bums in their fancy vehicles and taking them to Church..........I'll "BET" that none!!!! Many of them are simply getting RICH on GOD's free word.

Comrades the Peacherman's flashy lifestyles does reveal clearly who amongst them are truly agents for Jesus and who are not. My dad would say, watch the preacherman's who often passes the collection plate more than once at Sunday morning worship service.

the government is going by the results of the referendum they are not regulating or taxing the web cafe and there is no national lottery the problem is it looks like no one who voted understood the questions is this a result of the "D" average

I say tax them,for each web shop,1 MILLION DOLLARS FOR EACH LICENSE,they said they are making over 400 million dollars a year,the amount of webshop licences given the govt should collect a hefty amount,lets face it people,these people are going to gamble no matter what,might as well tax it for couple millions than get peanuts.

What I find so interesting in this debate is that noone ever talks about the gambling addicts and this town is full of them. I know of at least three persons - a family member, an acquaintance and a co-worker. The family member has a strong addiction to gambling and cannot keep a dollar in her pocket. Every cent goes on gambling. The acquaintance has been in several relationships because all of her boyfriends leave her when they discover his gambling addiction never mind that she makes lots of money and is a very attractive girl. The co-worker has now lost her job because she ended up stealing from her employer to support her habit... and the list goes on. I agree with Pastor Moxey. Gambling is a form of "rape". While the proponents of legalising gambling only want to take about the millions these croonies make and how the Government can get lots of money if it taxes them, what they never discuss is the hundreds or persons who are now addicted to gambling. Tell me, who is going to bat for them while they lose everything "spinning" for a hopeless payout while the croonies live large of their hard-earned money? And why is it that you never see web shops in affluent areas? Small wonder the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor.

I agree with Pastor Moxey too! I know many many person who gamble their last and a friend who lost her home because she gamble her mortgage monies out! I myself played and find myself losing to much monies and I had to make a decision on whether I will continue to make these number bosses rich or better myself. A lot of people don't have that will power. You don't see these web shops in the lyford cay and eastern areas they are all over the poor areas sucking every nickle from average or poor Bahamians. They dont even have a hotline to help people with gambling addictions. I SAY CLOSE ALL DOWN!!!!!

People are addicted to all sorts of things: Alcohol, cigarettes, porn and the list goes on. Presenting the argument about not legalizing the webshops because too many people are addicted is not a strong case. The fact is people need to be able to be given the choice to make decisions on their own. The church job is provide guidance and councelling to people who fall under any of the above addictions. The government cannot contiue to "b

Presenting the argument that many people are addicted to gambling does not provide a strong case against the reason for legalizing web shops. Fact is people are addicted to many things, including alcohol, cigarettes, porn etc. So do we order all liquor stores closed as well, or do we prohibit all stores from selling cigarettes? Adults need to be given the chance to make their own decisions in life, whether it is good or bad. That comes with democracy. But what we have in the Bahamas is theocracy, where the church is trying to govern the country. Not everyone is a Christian, so how can the so called pastors speak on behalf of everyone. I do agree that the referendum should be honoured, even though I was one of the persons who voted for the legalization of web shops in the Bahamas. The church’s job is provide guidance and counseling for their members and believers of their faith, not to dictate what should be allowed or not allowed to take place in our society, bearing in mind that in falls within the law.

They need to close that church which one of their PHEDOPHILE preachers has just opened , after his recent release from prison. This preacher a dangerous to be among children.

I am not against the legalization of web shops - if people are stupid enough to waste their hard earned money then that's up to them. I am however against illegal money suddenly becoming legal. If PGC does what he always wanted to do ( but didn't have the bottle to do last year) and legalises the Web Shops, there will be no way to stop the hitherto criminal operators from laundering their past profits through their new legitimate businesses. THAT would be plain wrong. I think the only way round this would be for each operator to pay substantial and punative "back dated" tax in order for them to be granted a license.

I am surprises. that so few people came to Rawson Square. The Pastors must be disappointed.

Not sure how they organized..each has a fairly sizeable church ..means their members didn't even show up. I wouldn't take that as an indication of lack of support though. It was a bad day/time

These so call religious need to get real. They are raping the Bahamas and weak minded Bahamians by using the lords using it to their advantage for financial gain. i personally know of a pastor who stole five thousand ($5000) from a woman. She had to hire a police officer to serve a summons on him, and guess what the pastor didn't come to court. If you see the size and the scale of this house you will thing he is a movie star. If the government tax the number lottery business i would support it because Bahamians are not getting anything from this industry at this time. I wish the P.M. just show his shape and tax them. That is where the money will circulate evenly.

I think some of yall forget that some of these pastors have really good jobs on the side of their ministry, and although they take offerings, tithes and proceeds because they have a church, a lot of the success and development actually come from what they make from their personal jobs with assistance from the church. Notice the pastors that only pastor for a living, some of them dont even have the foundation that these churches that pop up all of a sudden have. For example this Moxey man has a really good business on the side, repairing and selling boats, hes the number one man on the island when it comes to this.

"the government is going by the results of the referendum they are not regulating or taxing the web cafe and there is no national lottery the problem is it looks like no one who voted understood the questions is this a result of the "D" average"

@ Larry

I will be honest Larry, I have read many of the other responses to this article but Larry, you smashed the nail on the head as you could not have said it any better.
What's more amazing is the many persons who went to the polls to vote "No" without realising that to "Regulate" and to "Tax" is not the same as to "Legalize".

Its truly unbelievable!

(ChrisRolle). You are correct. I have been trying to tell people that the gaming industry is going to regulated and taxed. But sense some people do not see the bigger picture and listen to bias influences they voted no. And if any from the F.N.M party say anything reference to online gaming. it happened while they was in power and did nothing to enforce it or shut it down. But the government needs all the money they can get their hands on, and taxing the gaming industry would be a excellent source of money to pay our debt.

Well said Pat242!