The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian web shop operator yesterday said the industry should reduce its need for physical gaming house locations by conducting its business electronically, adding that 80 per cent of its business came from online.

Craig Flowers, the FML Group of Companies chief executive, told Tribune Business that physical gaming houses should be “a thing of the past”, acknowledging the growing concern over their rapid spread throughout Bahamian communities.

“Opening more stores is a thing of the past,” he said. “That’s not what we have ahead of us. I didn’t get here believing that the old system was the way. We passed the bookies in the streets because they didn’t look good, and now web shops are under attack and they should be.

“The industry should move to a point where smart phones and on-line gaming is done away from the public domain, particularly in smaller communities.”

The Gaming Act 2014 prohibits Internet gaming to ensure that web shops know the identities of their customers. Mr Flowers’ comments likely refer to existing customers, who have already passed Know Your Customer (KYC) due diligence, conducting their gaming online.

The FML chief, meanwhile, called for the Government to provide greater guidance and clarity on its plans for the web shop industry, along with details about how it plans to enforce the new zoning regulations.

Mr Flowers told Tribune Business: “It would mean a great deal for us to be able to make some some compromise at this juncture, and inform all concerned where the Government would want to take this industry. If not, in my opinion we’re going to end up just like the jitney service industry.”

He continued: “I don’t think that there is a need to have a massive amount of stores to create the same revenue being generated for government purposes, as well as the operators.

“I think that there is this myth and perception that the more stores you have out there, the more money you will make. I don’t buy that theory because the customers will usually find themselves at the nearest affordable location in ample time.

“For us, more than 80 per cent of our customers are on-line. The need for us to have these lavish buildings all over the place is not needed. We are a digital, online gaming entity. That’s where we are headed and that is where this industry should be given a mandate to go. What we have now is very short-sighted. There should be a plan.”

The Gaming Board this week confirmed in a statement that the existing gaming house licensees have been inspected and certified by independent international agencies, and officially granted licenses.

FML Web Shop, A Sure Win, Chances Games, Paradise Games, Island Luck, Percy’s at the Island Game, Asue Draw + Spin, and Bahama Dreams were all granted conditional gaming house licenses last October.

The Gaming Board recently confirmed that Four Point Group Limited, trading as Asue Draw + Spin, has not renewed its Gaming House operator license for 2016-2017.

The Gaming Board said Obie Wilchcombe, who has ministerial responsibility for gaming, intends to adopt its recommended zoning regulations.

It added that following hundreds of site inspections to determine the proximity of gaming houses to schools or learning institutions, places of worship and residential areas, other gaming houses and premises where pensions or welfare payments are collected, the zoning proposed by the Gaming Board “envisions a transitional approach that takes into consideration the unique constraints associated with imposing a comprehensive zoning scheme upon many long-standing gaming house locations, in an environment that has been properly zoned itself”.

Based on the Gaming House Operator Regulations 2014, operators are required to pay $250,000 annually for license and monitoring fees, in addition to separate license fees for all of their employees.

As it relates to the taxes, according to the regulations, gaming house operators will be required to pay 11 per cent of their taxable revenue or 25 per cent of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), depending on which one is greater.