By Fay Simmons

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

Tribune Business Reporter

The Gaming Board's executive chairman yesterday hit out at discriminatory rules that bar Bahamians from gambling in hotel casinos, and said: "We're not here to police morality in The Bahamas."

Dr Daniel Johnson, speaking at a gaming conference held at Atlantis, said: "It's a peculiar thing in The Bahamas that you could gamble on Carmichael Road but you can’t come [Paradise Island] and play the $10 bet. It is a peculiar thing that certain people can go certain places and do it and other people can't.

"Our thing is choice. And in the world of adult entertainment, it's not for kids, it's not for people who cannot afford it. We want to have a regime that gives people the choice as to what you wish to do. And where you want to do it. We’re not to police morality in The Bahamas. We ask people to be responsible. But we're wanting to change our view of policing our own people. Our people don't need policing. They need to prosper. And that's the balancing act we have to go with.”

Referring to gaming destinations such as Las Vegas and Orlando, Mr Johnson called for entertainment to be better incorporated into The Bahamas' gaming model. "Gaming is a part of our tourism industry. And we've kind of had seg-wayed off on its own. But it really needs to be integrated as a part of entertainment," he added.

"Our brand lacks entertainment as big as we are. You know, we started out with Vegas, and we started out with Orlando in 1965. They've gone to 50-55 million tourists a year 50 years later. We're still around the five to seven million mark, but they went heavy with entertainment.

“One is in a desert, and one is in a swamp. We are in a tropical paradise. So, we have to re-imagine, reignite and re-engineer our entertainment brand. And the gaming world has a capacity to do that. And so we’re looking at bringing the gaming industry along with entertainment that takes our product up another notch”

Dr Johnson said gaming licenses are still available in Grand Bahama and Exuma for land-based casinos. “We’ve got two licenses available in Grand Bahama, there is a license available in Exuma," he added. "You will hear about it in the coming months with the update of legislation, and we will invite people to come and participate and apply.

"But there are available licences becoming available for land-based casinos and other things that are innovative in this industry. And so we want to make it available so we can see growth. We want to look at new licensing, perhaps in the future for the Family Islands, maybe Grand Bahama will become the Magic City again, where anyone can go there on the weekend.

"And you can go and game, Bahamian, foreigner, permanent resident, Chinese, American, Hispanic, whoever you are. You can go there and again we have to test this model now. And not discriminate against ourselves.” Mr Johnson clarified that six of the seven local operator licences are in use, but the licence for the Grand Lucayan is not.

Dr Johnson said: “We have seven licences for local operators and six are taken. And then we have three casino operators, which are the big three, but Sandals did not do theirs [in Exuma]. And in Grand Bahama, Grand Lucayan is laying dormant for the time being. So we know we have two licences we would like to see turned on, that’s Exuma and Grand Bahama.”

He added that since modern gaming has evolved into an online activity, improved infrastructure is required to monitor and evaluate gaming providers.

Dr Johnson said: “We have to bring it up in the 21st century. This is an online phenomenon. This is a computerised back office. We have to get our systems in place that can monitor and evaluate what happens when they press that button. So we need to upgrade our systems electronically, and our conversation with them about monitoring and evaluation, because we need to have certain information to make sure it's fair and balanced on both sides.

“The legislation is going to be shared with all the industry insiders, local and international. They'll have their input as a stakeholder, and we'll see what comes out of it. We are the facilitator. We're not going to tell people what to do. But we want to have legislation that facilitates growth and prosperity and protects the citizen. That's what we want it to reflect.”

Dr Johnson noted the importance of ensuring a balance between the prevalence of gaming and the protection of patrons, and expressed the importance of ‘giving back’ to communities affected by the increase in gambling activities.

He said: “You have to protect and prosper industry. And I use protect first. So responsible gaming is really important in the modern era because this Internet online thing goes into people's homes. It can come up on kid’s phones, it is everywhere. And so we have to be honest about it and fair with the industry. And that's where conversation and collaboration need to begin because you have to have compromise.

“The responsible part of it is we have to also plan to give back to these communities, where some of these things are happening. There's a good side and bad side; we have to level it out. Our job as a regulator is to make sure that the pluses are much more than the negative aspects.”

Mr Johnson defended the gaming industry’s regulation, highlighting the initiatives adopted for persons suffering from gambling addiction imbedded into the law and regulations. He said: “We have a hotline. We've engaged the psychiatrists at Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre.

"We have an addiction-based programme built into our legislative framework, and the programmes that our local and international gaming institutions use as a red flag phenomenon. If people are acting irresponsibly, your family can report someone. Some people report themselves as having a problem. People get into severe gaming issues and lose more than they can, and that is reported. They’re red flagged, and those people can be banned for life.”