Betting talks fail to get started

Philip Hamilton

Saturday, December 12, 2009

A lack of submissions from the gaming and horseracing sectors brought a premature end to Thursday's special select parliamentary committee meeting to review laws governing the betting, gaming and lotteries, as well as casino gaming.

The 12-member committee, which was meeting for the first time, heard from chairman Daryl Vaz that only three submissions were received in response to advertisement published in November 2009.

The deadline for interested parties wishing to participate was Friday, December 4.

The submissions received were from Harmony Cove -- represented at the meeting by law firm Myers, Fletcher Gordon -- Caymanas Track Limited (CTL), and the Racehorse Owners Association.

But Vaz, in attempting to have CTL present its submission before the committee, was advised by several members that this could not be done.

"We need the submissions for us to review, study and come back. They can't make presentations today," said Everald Warmington, who was equally supported by fellow committee member Rudyard Spencer.

"It makes for good order if the submissions were circulated before, because a very important aspect of their making presentations is that the committee members be allowed to ask questions and it wouldn't be in a position to ask informed questions unless they had the submission," noted Spencer.

Vaz reiterated that the committee, which already faced severe time constraints, noted it had a January 26, 2010 deadline in which to submit its report to Parliament.

However, opposition committee member Phillip Paulwell suggested that the deadline for submissions be extended by a further seven days to allow interested groups who may have not seen the first advertisement to participate.

Another committee member, Lisa Hanna, proposed that other media also be used to highlight what the committee was established to do.

"What we find in other committees where we have presentations being made is that often you put an ad in the paper, it's not seen and then you don't get the wide submissions that you ought to get," said Hanna.

Vaz, however, felt the lack of submissions resulted from several Jamaicans believing that the Government had already taken a decision on the matter.

"I think the issue of casino gaming was very publicised prior to the Government making the policy announcement, and I think why we have not gotten the responses that would have been expected is because as far as most people are concerned, this is something that has been decided on already, and what is being done now is the terms and conditions of the licence," said Vaz.

Committee member, Dr Wykeham McNeil, while acknowledging he was not aware that an advertisement had been placed requesting submissions, fully supported his colleagues request for an extension.

The committee, which approved the extension for further submission by a week, will next meet on Tuesday, December 15.