Tabling of the Green Paper on Gaming for Bermuda
5 March 2010 | Premier Ewart Brown
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to deliver on another of this Government’s Throne Speech promises. Today’s tabling of the Green Paper on Gaming For Bermuda fulfills an undertaking we made to provide the people of Bermuda with the research conducted on what I have referred to previously as the “vexed issue of gaming for Bermuda”.
Honourable Members will know from their own canvassing that the issue of gaming can crop up on the doorstep or in public meetings. The aim of this Green Paper is to provide a guide for the discussion on this issue. Honourable Members and the public at large will find within its pages and on the accompanying CD, a wealth of information that will inform and stimulate debate.
Mr. Speaker, as I indicate in my Foreward, how we approach the task before us on this issue of gaming will determine our economic future and our positioning in the increasingly competitive tourism marketplace. Certainly I do not suggest that the introduction of gaming in any of its forms is the sole solution to the revitalization of our tourism. But I see it as an amenity; something that we must offer to attract more visitors to our shores. To quote one hotelier who supports the introduction of gaming, Mr. Speaker, “hotels have bars and pools but not everyone drinks or swims…..they are amenities.”
The tourism focus of the discussion on gaming is a useful one, Mr. Speaker, but it is only one. Against the background of global economic realities that defy traditional norms, the key to survival is diversification in a sustainable manner. As I indicated in my remarks immediately following last week’s Budget Statement, we are called upon to examine opportunities for new revenue streams. The potential of gaming in this regard cannot be ignored and old arguments against its introduction must be tempered with the realities of the global economy.
Mr. Speaker, an object example of how need manifests change can be seen in Singapore. Honourable Members may be aware that this Southeast Asian city enjoys a reputation as a stiff, heavily policed and well regulated place. These attributes have made it the home for a number of international companies who value the jurisdiction’s commitment to the rule of law and an excellent infrastructure that meets their needs in the Region. Sound familiar? Faced with declining visitor numbers however, Singapore has been forced to make a shift in how it attracts its visitors and maintains its market share in the increasingly competitive tourism marketplace.
Mr. Speaker, some of the things Singapore has done include:
• Closing its downtown streets during the last weekend of September to create a Formula One Grand Prix circuit
• Outdoor concerts featuring Beyonce, the Black Eyed Peas and Gwen Stefani
• And yes, casino gaming
Mr. Speaker, Singapore expects to boost its tourist arrivals by 7 million people and its total tourism receipts to 21 billion dollars. The Government has played a significant role in the implementation of casino gaming and the effect of that has been to ensure that no Las Vegas style neon lights announce the location of such a facility. Instead, casinos are hardly noticeable and form part of what the jurisdiction terms “an integrated resort”.
Mr. Speaker, Beh Swan Gin, CEO of the Economic Development Board of Singapore put it best when he said “Singapore was always livable, but it’s in our own interest to be a more vibrant and interesting city.”
Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members will note that the sole legislative commitment in this Green Paper is to an exercise of overdue consolidation of the disparate provisions that regulate Bermuda’s existing gaming. Whatever the result of this exercise, clarity will emerge and a single Act of the Legislature will govern gaming in Bermuda.
In commending this Green Paper to this Honourable House and for the review of the general public, I urge a full examination of the facts and comprehensive feedback. A dedicated email address has been set up for this purpose and copies of the Green Paper are available from the Cabinet Office and available online via the Government’s website, www.gov.bm.
The jurisdictional reviews contained in the Green Paper provide excellent insight into how other Regional partners have approached these issues and the means by which they have developed a framework to the benefit of their citizens.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the active participation of the public in this debate through their submissions and to that of Honourable Members in the eventual debate on this Green Paper.
Mr. Speaker, I think the discussion on this Green Paper can be framed in words borrowed from the Report of the Task Force on Gaming : “ Bermuda now needs new economic opportunities to strengthen its existing activities……the changes in our economic fortunes and the challenges that now threaten us justify this examination at this time…..”.
This, Mr. Speaker, is the challenge before us.
