The Tribune

Re: Numbers can be stopped!

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Firstly, numbers can be stopped if the government really wanted to. The backbone of all number houses is the Internet. Just as countries can block Facebook and Twitter, we can block the website of all current and any new number houses. It's a very easy thing to do. If number houses should revert back to the old way of selling numbers via paper receipts, then they should be very easy to catch and prosecute. Secondly, number houses have evolved into casinos. People go in there and put money on their accounts and gamble on the computers. You can place a bet/wager on just about every game imaginable...checkers, bingo, poker, blackjack, slots, sports, etc... It's all right there to play for money on the Internet so the question about legalising casinos seems crazy to me because when we legalise numbers, by extension, we will be legalising casino gambling as well.

Don't you see parked cars in front of number houses all day...people are not there for hours buying Cash 3 or Play 4...they are gambling on the computer!

In my opinion, if we are going to legalise numbers then we should also legalise casino gambling. We already have a reliable system in place for casinos so it will be nothing new for us to do except change the law and maybe tax the casinos a little more. The casinos will be more profitable which will allow them to hire more people, who in turn contribute to the growth of the economy. It will be much easier than implementing a totally new system that has to be created and enforced. Besides, the odds of winning are better in a casino than they are on a computer...do some research into online casino. Lastly, it is with regret that we have come to this point in our country. This could have all been prevented if we nipped this, in the proverbial bud, when it first started but like so many other things we have let it grown out of control.

Gambling is a very serious addiction that I have personally seen ruin many families right here in the Bahamas. In my experience as a former numbers salesperson, women especially are susceptible to this unnecessary evil. Unfortunately we cannot go back in time, so to me the sensible thing to do is to have a government run numbers/lottery system like in Florida. We could hire an experienced company and pay them a management fee that will be based on percentage of the profits.

I hope we also enact a law that will ensure all the profits from gambling/numbers can only be used in the education system. Casino gambling should then be made legal for all above the age of 21 and we should tax casinos on a percentage of revenue as well. If we as a country decide to legalise gambling/numbers then it should be for the benefit of all, not just the owners of a few number houses!

WOODES RODGERS

"Pirates expelled, commerce restored!"

Nassau,

September 10, 2012.