EDITOR, The Tribune.
Recently, an Editorial in The Nassau Guardian suggested that the government and the police should move to shut down the web shops until such time as there is legislation in place to make them legal. It is clear to me that the writer of that editorial is not a journalist per se and certainly has a hidden agenda.
Web Shops are, in my considered view, already legal and are operating above board. The majority of them are fully licensed by the Ministry of Finance and provide a legitimate service. In addition, they employ thousands of Bahamians throughout the nation who, perhaps, would have been unemployed otherwise.
The Lotteries and Gaming Act prohibits Bahamians from wagering on the site of a web shop or other establishments except where there is a waiver by the Ministry of Finance.
No numbers are drawn or thrown in these web shops as would have been the case back in the days when people like “Percy”; “The Baron” and “Stokes” would have run their establishments where a bag containing 100 number balls is thrown into the air and caught by a bystander.
It is more sophisticated than that today and the “numbers” for today or night are selected electronically outside of our jurisdiction.
The hands of the police and law enforcement authorities are effectively tied by a serious deficit in legislation and by the ongoing Supreme Court case relative to the legality of web shops.
In the meantime, hundreds of thousands of dollars are being amassed each day by the known web shop operators.
Daily, new outlets are being opened and more monies are being made without a dime being used by the government of the day to reduce and possibly eliminate the bloated national deficit.
By their own admission, web shop operators rake in more than 400 millions of dollars per year as gross revenue.
Little of this amount is in the legitimate economy as banks and insurance companies are prohibited from accessing the same due to the “know your customer” restrictions.
As a result, we now have a parallel economy which is not good for the overall economic good of the nation.
The PM was man enough to admit the other day that he made a miscalculation relative to holding a non-binding referendum on the questions of regulation and taxation of web shops. I strongly recommend that the appropriate legislation be drafted and introduced in parliament in short order.
Individuals, who do not wish to wager or who may have a religious opposition to the same, are entitled to their opinions and views.
They, however, are not in a moral or democratic position to dictate to those of us who may wish to do so in a safe and secure environment.
The nation needs to generate new means of raising revenue to tackle the recurring annual deficit and to manage the almost six billion dollars national debt. Those who oppose regulation and taxation of web shops, which are, in my opinion, here to stay are fiddling while proverbial Rome is burning.
Some of them have even gone so far as to bogusly accuse the operators of these establishments of racketeering and akin to common criminals.
Mind you, a large number of these same detractors have big skeletons in their own closets and are known to be con men/women, in a number of cases, of the highest order. It is alleged that many of them are fleecing their flock big time.
Web Shops now play a critical economic role in The Bahamas and must be brought into the dynamics of the regular economy. It is obvious that individuals who currently own and operate banks; insurance companies and lending institutions would not wish to see this scenario as it would cause a tremendous reduction in their current monopoly in those areas.
Imagine if web shops were brought into the regular economy. With some 400 million dollars at their disposal on an annual basis, the owners could apply for and obtain licenses for banks; insurance companies and lending institutions.
They would then be able to extend real estate mortgages; commercial loans and buy government paper. The gross profit margins of the current players would be wiped out overnight.
The Gold Rush administration is at the crossroads on this issue. We should either move forward, rationally, and regulate and tax the web shops or throw open all manner and forms of gaming to Bahamians.
To overtly discriminate against our own people in this day and age is dead wrong.
To God then, in all things, even this, be the glory.
ORTLAND H BODIE JR
Nassau,
February 9, 2014.
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