By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The long-awaited Gaming Bill will transform the Bahamas into “one of the world’s most pre-eminent” casino destinations, a leading industry executive yesterday saying this nation would now offer all the games Las Vegas and Macau possess.

Robert Sands, Baha Mar’s senior vice-president of government and external affairs, told Tribune Business that the first comprehensive overhaul of the Bahamas’ casino gaming legislation for 45 years was “absolutely critical” to the $3.5 billion project’s success.

This is because Baha Mar is based on a casino-focused business model, its 100,000 square foot facility being the largest in the Caribbean, and Mr Sands said the upgraded legislation was vital for both the developer’s and Bahamas’ gaming industry competitiveness.

The Government finally tabled the Gaming Bill in the House of Assembly yesterday, and Mr Sands told Tribune Business its passage into law would finally place this nation’s hotel casino industry on a ‘level playing field’ with the likes of Nevada and Singapore.

“This is an essential step in making the Bahamas a globally competitive destination, and truly levelling the playing field with the leading gaming destinations around the world - Macau, Singapore and Nevada,” Mr Sands told Tribune Business.

“This gives the Bahamas a very competitive edge on the way forward in solidifying its tourism sector..... This is a transformative piece of legislation, and goes a long way to making the gaming sector and the Bahamas become one of the pre-eminent gaming destinations in the world.”

The Gaming Bill has been a long time in coming, with the hotel casino industry having worked on its portion of the legislation for the past two years.

Mr Sands said the sector hoped the legislation would pass the House of Assembly within the next seven-10 days, adding that it would ultimately unlock additional job-creating investments by Bahamas-based casinos.

With significant capital already invested by the Bahamas’ four existing casinos - Atlantis, Baha Mar, Resorts World/Genting, and the Grand Lucayan, Mr Sands said of the Bill: “I can tell you that this is a significant linchpin in ensuring gaming resorts meet their forecast expectations.

“This puts us on a level playing field with these other jurisdictions. They have nothing that we don’t have through this Bill.

“It will put the Bahamas on the cutting edge of gaming industry best practices, efficiency and technology. It will allow the Bahamas to target high rolling international casino players.”

Mr Sands said the Bahamian casino industry had a potential 422 million-strong market all living within a 1,500-mile radius of this nation.

He suggested that the reforms ushered in by the Bill could open up new markets in North America, Asia, Latin America and Asia.

“This will create a sustainable competitive advantage for the Bahamas as a newly-affluent middle class seeks entertainment and first class travelling experiences,” Mr Sands added.

“All of the updates drive Bahamian revenues, thereby increasing the tax base and expanding job opportunities for many Bahamians.”

The Gaming Bill will allow Bahamian casino to employ the latest technology to offer cutting-edge games, such as on-property sports betting, in-play wagering, Internet wagering, proxy wagering and online gaming via cell phones and computers. There will also be incentives for ‘junket’ group visits.

Proxy wagering allows players to place a bet without physically being on site, via proxy and technical aids, while mobile gaming allows hotel guests to place a bet from anywhere on the hotel property via cell phones. The Bill will also allow sports betting wagers to be accepted even after the game has started.

Describing the Bill as “long overdue”, Mr Sands said the timing of its passage into law was “very critical” to Baha Mar’s grand opening some eight-nine months from now in Spring 2015.

“It was absolutely imperative that this legislation be introduced, resolved and passed because it’s absolutely critical to our success,” Mr Sands told Tribune Business.

He added that 15 of the industry’s 17 recommendations had been incorporated into the Bill by the Government, encompassing all the changes “important to the profitability of our companies”.

Of the two outstanding recommendations, Mr Sands said one was included in the Bill - but not in the industry’s desired form - and the other would likely be revisited by the industry later.

In a previous interview, Mr Sands said the two recommendations not adopted in the industry’s preferred form were allowing permanent residents and work permit holders to gamble in Bahamian casinos, plus the proposed dual rating’ system for casino staff.

Previous industry estimates, though, suggested that by incorporating most of its 17 recommendations, the Bahamas could see anywhere from a 25-30 per cent increase” in stopover visitors and more than 20,000 new jobs.

A 2013 presentation by Uri Clinton, Baha Mar’s former senior vice-president and general counsel, showed how much ground the Bahamas has to make up.

He produced data revealing 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.

Top Baha Mar executives yesterday said the Gaming Bill’s passage would boost tourism as the Bahamas’ number one industry, generating 55 per cent of all jobs and close to half annual GDP.

Sarkis Izmirlian, Baha Mar’s chairman and chief executive, said. “The Bahamas has long been known as a stable gaming jurisdiction, and these new regulations would put us on a level playing field with the world’s most successful casino markets such as Las Vegas, Singapore and Macau.

“The regulations also would allow us to offer private VIP gaming salons, enhanced lines of credit, gaming junkets and other amenities vital to attracting affluent international casino customers.”

Paul V. Pusateri, Baha Mar’s chief operating officer, said: “Technology-driven amenities such as internet gaming, mobile gaming and in-play sports betting will help differentiate the Bahamas in the highly competitive gaming sector.

“They definitely will help Baha Mar attract players from the Eastern United States, Latin America, Asia and other markets that will be important to our success.”