By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government’s decision not to allow permanent residents and work permit holders to gamble in Bahamian casinos is a “miniscule” issue that will not delay much-needed reform, a tourism industry executive said yesterday.

Robert Sands, Baha Mar’s senior vice-president of external and government affairs, told Tribune Business that the continued bar on expatriate residents was “not as important” as the 15 other reforms that have been incorporated in the Gaming Modernisation Bill.

And, while the Government also appears not to have enhanced the ‘dual rating’ system for casino staff, Mr Sands said the industry was “keeping our fingers crossed” that the Bill reaches Parliament as promised next week.

The proposed casino gaming reforms have been somewhat lost amid the publicity devoted to the legalisation of web shop gaming, and Mr Sands said the hotel industry understood the Government was set to introduce two separate Bills in the House of Assembly.

“We understand there may be two separate Bills coming to Parliament,” Mr Sands told Tribune Business, implying that one would modernise the existing casino legislation, while the other would tackle the web shops.

“We’ve been assured that our Bill, which we have been advocating for, will happen in the first week of July,” he added.

“The Gaming Modernisation Bill is coming next week, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that it’s actually going to happen. We’ve been given every indication this is coming to pass.”

The Bill is especially vital for Mr Sands’s employer, given that Baha Mar’s business model is centred on its 100,000 square casino, the largest in the Caribbean.

When asked by Tribune Business whether Baha Mar had much riding on the legislation’s passage prior to its planned December 2014 opening, Mr Sands replied: “I think you hit the nail on the head.

“For Baha Mar, this is exceptionally important to us, as we are principally a gaming resort. The basis of moving forward fundamentally hinges on these elements being prevalent, and it needs to happen.

“This would be, from our point of view, one of the most important pieces of legislation that can positively impact tourism in the Bahamas going forward.”

The Bill, and associated regulations, will allow Bahamas-based casinos - Atlantis and Baha Mar, plus those at the Grand Lucayan and Bimini Bay resorts - to offer on-property sports betting, in-play wagering, proxy wagering and online gaming via cell phones and computers. There will also be incentives for ‘junket’ group visits.

And Mr Sands said previously that passing the Bill, and incorporating most of the industry’s 17 recommendations, could create anywhere from a 25-30 per cent increase” in stopover visitors and more than 20,000 new jobs.

“I think all the casinos are waiting for this to happen because it will enable us to introduce new games and market new initiative sin a highly competitive gaming environment,” Mr Sands told Tribune Business yesterday.

“We’ve always said this modernisation Bill will bring Bahamian gaming into the 21st century, level the playing field for casinos in the Bahamas and make them competitive with the rest of the world, putting us at the cutting edge of technology for the first time and allowing entities to be best in class and provide an additional amenity and opportunity for the rest of the tourism sector.”

Mr Sands said the casino industry had been advised that “the majority” of its 17 proposed reforms had been included in the Bill, “with the exception of two to three”.

“The whole issue of permanent residents and work permit holders [being allowed to gamble in casinos] may not be in there,” he revealed.

“That’s miniscule, and it’s not as important as the other 15 points that have been put in. The industry has advised that the Bill should not be held up for these issues.”

This strongly suggests that the Government is maintaining the status quo in terms of who is permitted to gamble in resort casinos.

It had originally proposed lifting the bar on permanent residents and work permit holders, but likely dropped this after it was pointed out that this discriminated against Bahamians - who cannot gamble in casinos. The reversal likely means that Bahamians will still be unable to gamble in casinos, and be restricted just to web shops.

Mr Sands also divulged to Tribune Business that the “dual rating enhancements” that the industry had proposed were not included in the Bill.

Dual rating, which is in the existing regulations, allows casino staff to be “rated” to perform one or more roles. For example, someone could be ‘rated’ as either a croupier or pit boss, or as a pit boss and shift manager.

“That takes into consideration that our gaming business, like tourism, is an accordion,” Mr Sands explained. “When business is good, you can expand it without having permanent staff to deal with the needs of the accordion.

“Dual rating enables individuals to be trained for higher-type positions and be in a more marketable position going forward. Our request was an enhancement of the existing position, but we’ve been advised that may not be included.”

Mr Sands said Atlantis, Baha Mar and Genting were working “on additional elements that make the passage of this legislation workable”, adjusting their internal controls to ensure the legislation can be implemented.

Just how far the Bahamas has fallen when it comes to casino gaming competitiveness was illustrated by a 2013 presentation given by Uri Clinton, Baha Mar’s senior vice-president and general counsel.

Speaking at a College of the Bahamas (COB) tourism conference, Mr Clinton revealed data showing that total Bahamian casino gaming gross revenues had fallen by more than one-third over the five years between 2007 and 2011, dropping from close to $220 million to around $145 million - a 34 per cent decline.

The decline in stopover visitors over that 2007-2011 period was nowhere near as sharp, Mr Clinton showed, producing comparisons between the Bahamas and rival gaming meccas to prove his point.

Comparing this nation to Singapore, Macau, Atlantic City, Las Vegas and Biloxi (Mississippi), Mr Clinton’s presentation showed the Bahamas’ generated the lowest revenue per casino of all in 2011 - just $48.691 million.

This figure was based on three operating casinos and total revenues of $146.073 million, yet Singapore’s two casinos were generating $2.222 billion per establishment that same year.

By the same yardstick, Macau’s 33 casinos were earning $1.076 billion in gross revenues per facility. And the figures for Atlantic City and Las Vegas were $296.5 million and $241 million respectively, with Biloxi standing at just shy of $100 million in gross revenues per casino.