By TANEKA THOMPSON
Tribune News Editor
WEBSHOPS may be “fleecing” its customers out of winnings from unregulated electronic slot games, Gaming Board Chairman Dr Andre Rollins told the House of Assembly yesterday.
The Fort Charlotte MP also doubted that the government will take in the estimated $12m in revenue that the prime minister has projected from a regulated web shop industry.
During his contribution to the 2014/2015 budget debate in the House of Assembly, Dr Rollins said because webshops are unregulated, the sector is not mandated to pay out electronic slot machine winnings at the rate that is specified in the Lotteries and Gaming Act.
“One of the most lucrative components of the web shop business is electronic slot machine play, commonly known as ‘spinning’,” the Fort Charlotte MP said. “These games are programmed to permit a specified rate of winning that can vary depending on the discretion of the operator.
“Without laws to govern the conduct of web shops, unregulated slot play is likely exposing Bahamian players to rates of winning well below that which is permissible under the regulations governing slot play in our regulated hotel based casinos.”
The Lotteries and Gaming Act mandates that a minimum of 83 per cent of game play must be paid out in winnings.
“Without regulations governing web shops, there is a strong possibility that Bahamians have and are being fleeced by slot machine games programmed to return much less of game play in winnings to Bahamians gambling in unregulated web shops,” Dr Rollins added.
Prime Minister Perry Christie recently affirmed his intent to regulate the web shop sector and said the industry’s taxes will be retroactive to July 1. He said the government expects to raise revenue from web shops taxes of the order of .014 per cent of GDP.
This would yield approximately $12 million, which the Fort Charlotte MP said is less than 1 per cent of the country’s annual budget.
Dr Rollins suggested that the government’s actual intake of web shop taxes may fall below the projected amount, which he said will “only strengthen the public’s view that a national lottery will be far more beneficial to the state’s coffers and national development.”
He added: “It can be appreciated that underestimating revenue is preferable to overestimating revenue, however, our recent historical data under successive administrations has shown that our budget revenue projections have come in below not above what was projected, which suggests that there is a strong possibility that we may not generate the projected $12 million from the taxation of web shops.
“If securing a new source of revenue is the motivation behind regulating and taxing web shops as indicated by the prime minister, the fundamental question we must all ask for the sake of our country and our government’s depleted coffers is this: Is $12,000,000 the best we can do?”
Dr Rollins said the government should tax web shops at a higher rate than hotel based casinos to ensure government revenue from the sector does not fall short of expectations.
He also expressed concern that the government’s move to legalise some forms of gaming for Bahamians will lead to gambling addiction, personal bankruptcy, family neglect, insurance and credit card fraud.
He said the government must work to minimise any social ills brought on by regulating web shops.
“A separate responsible gaming tax should be imposed on web shops and earmarked to combat compulsive gambling,” he said.
Comments
CuriousAbaconian 9 years, 10 months ago
Why wouldn't they? They're operating illegally already
TalRussell 9 years, 10 months ago
Comrades the more I get to better understand the Web Shops "delay and more delay game" PM Christie and his cabinet colleagues are playing with the minds of their own people, the sicker to my stomach I become. While I agree with the majority of what Comrade Dr. Andre has outlined herein, why is it as Chairman of the Gaming Board, is he not screaming from his gaming office for the Commish of Policemans to walked into ALL Web Shops and walkout with the devices used for "spinning," removing them for for "forensics testing?" Comrade Dr. Andre you talk a good talk but you don't have enough bullocks to kick any PLP's ass, if they voluntarily dropped their damn pants and bent over for a swift kick. If the seized gambling devices are found to be 'fixed" in favor of the House you arrest, close-down and prosecute the hell out of the offenders. And, YES, that must include all PLP financial contributors. PM this Web Shops thing is going to destroy you and your colleagues, and before 2017 has a chance to come around. PM put an immediate end to this sneaky PLP nonsense and establish a government National Lottery.
Purcell 9 years, 10 months ago
As I have revealed a week or so ago web shops want nothing less than to be legalized. Why pay fees, taxes and adhere to standards? As long as they operate in the black all they have to pay is bribes to politicians and the police. That is a fraction of what legalization would cost them. This is not a speculation, this is a fact coming from me who was in the business setting one of these web shops up. We wanted nothing to do with legalization, we paid the bribes and the only thing that put a fear into us was a national lottery as we could not hope to compete with the government illegally. If the government would run a lottery they would place terminals into every food store, convenience store, pub and mall. They would then for sure go after the competition (us) and shut us down for good. So don't hold your breath for legalized numbers houses, it will not happen.
DillyTree 9 years, 10 months ago
Web shops MAY be fleecing customers?? What an absurd idea. Surely these fine, upstanding members of the community couldn't possibly be cheating people. There's a novel idea indeed.
WAKE up, people! Of course web shops are fleecing people.
GrassRoot 9 years, 10 months ago
of cour$e, every day of further delay count$.
bahamian242 9 years, 10 months ago
$12M a drop in the bucket! Our debt stands close to $6B!
justthefactsplease 9 years, 10 months ago
It is amazing how the police can say they have no proof of illegality taking place in these "web shops" yet the Chairman can stand in the House of Assembly and tell the country what is going on. Could the police really be lying to us???
justthefactsplease 9 years, 10 months ago
"He also expressed concern that the government’s move to legalise some forms of gaming for Bahamians will lead to gambling addiction*"...“*A separate responsible gaming tax should be imposed on web shops and earmarked to combat compulsive gambling,” What sense does it make to create a gambling addiction problem and then earmark money to combat it ... this is akin to drinking poison and dependiing on the antidote to fix your stupidity. One would think that avoiding the problem in the first palce would be the prudent decision.
Purcell 9 years, 10 months ago
It is not the government's job to save people from themselves. In a free country you have the right to make as many bad decisions as you want. Not to mention the fact that whoever is susceptible to a gambling addiction is an addict already and buying numbers twice a day.
TalRussell 9 years, 10 months ago
Comrade Justthefactsplease there has been no bigger blog supporter of PM Christie being returned to power than this Comrade, yet from the day the referendum was even talked about I opposed regularizing, legalizing, stabilizing or whatever lizing the PM and his cabinet colleagues use to smooth this over on their own people. How can you make lawlessness straight under the law? I have pointed out before that all these web shops are doing is piggybacking off of American States sanction lotteries. This in itself is Illegal. Do you recall how they talked that, if the NO's voted in the majority it would result in the loss of web shops jobs. But once PM Christie made it official he would go against the votes of the people, what in the hell did they do. They FIRED employees who they claimed were not fit to move forward as they moved closer toward regularizing (decriminalizing) the numbers rackets. Minister Shane where in the hell was the power of your office when they were fired. I will tell you. Not a damn word was uttered by you as the minister of labour. PM did you stand up for even one of the many FIRED web shops workers? of course not and the people know exactly why you and your labour officials and your entire cabinet closed your eyes. what in hell have poor people ever done make this PLP government turn your backs on their plights?
Purcell 9 years, 10 months ago
The reason for piggybacking is that nobody would trust a Bahamian entity to be an honest agent for drawing numbers. If there was a national lottery it would have to be using USA numbers as well because the government is a bigger collection of crooks that numbers bosses ever were. It is very easy to corrupt a draw so that the least amount of winners there are. Or to make politically connected donors the winners of big prizes.
sheeprunner12 9 years, 10 months ago
Left hand dont know what right hand doing............. Exec Chairman, Minister on different page.............. he is a toothless dragon
This is the sad state of Cabinet operations ................... and powerful lobby groups and civil servants susceptible to bribery and corruption
Purcell 9 years, 10 months ago
Usually the saying goes: "No need to explain something as the result of corruption when incompetence can do the job" In the Bahamas it goes as the exact opposite: "Don't try to explain something as incompetence when corruption will do."
Well_mudda_take_sic 9 years, 10 months ago
Roberts and Gray, like Christie, Miller, et al, have spouted so much hogwash over the years that they now truly believe most of the utter nonsense that comes from their parted lips. When politicians like these four individuals constantly exhibit such warped (handicapped?) mindsets, they are usually years beyond the time they should have been put out to pasture....which does not speak well at all for those who have supported them in recent years, fortunately now rapidly diminishing in number. I listened to the presentations in the House of Assembly of Greg Moss and Dr. Andre Rollins that have caused such a stir within the PLP......it was a most refreshing change to see young politicians capable and willing to speak their mind in the interest of their constituents and the Bahamian people. True to Christie's insecurities as a failed leader, he has now set the likes of Roberts and Gray on Mr. Moss and Dr. Rollins as if to teach them a lesson when in fact it is Christie, Roberts, Gray and Miller (four old flea ridden pot cakes living in the wrong political era of our country) who should be taking a lesson from Mr. Moss and Dr. Rollins.
B_I_D___ 9 years, 10 months ago
JTFP...just like the government has already admitted that VAT will impact the poor...so they are earmarking a chunk of the money that was meant to be going to pay down our debt, to go towards social services to assist those negatively impacted by VAT...and around and around we go!! Getting dizzy yet?
ThisIsOurs 9 years, 10 months ago
OMG, there's cheating???
BahamasGamingAssociation 9 years, 9 months ago
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bahama...">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bahama...
WHICH ON OF THE BELOW REIGNS SUPREME IN THE BAHAMAS?
The Bahamas Lottery and Gaming Act Chapter 387 Section 50 Persons prohibited from Gaming
Or
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas Chapter III – Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedom of the Individual. Section 26 Protection from Discrimination on grounds of Race, Place of Origin etc.
The Bahamas Gaming Association stands by the Ideology that all human beings who are 18 years or older should be treated equally in all sectors of the Bahamian Economy which is enshrined in the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.
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