If the account given by floor managers at two of Kingston’s prime gaming lounges is anything to go by, objections to the introduction of casino gambling are pure emotion and will blow over sooner or later.

They say casino gambling is already in Jamaica in practice, if not in theory.

“The main difference is that with casinos it’s live dealers. We don’t have live dealers,” ‘Ben’, the guest relations manager at the Acropolis in Barbican, St Andrew, tells the Sunday Observer. “If you compare what we have to [Las] Vegas that’s mostly all we are missing, and most visitors to the island ask if we don’t have live dealers.”

The Acropolis, which boasts of being the “glitziest, luckiest and biggest” lounge, is part of a network parented by Supreme Ventures Limited, which operates video-gaming lounges islandwide, including the Villagio at the Hilton Kingston Hotel and The Acropolis Gaming & Entertainment Centre in May Pen, Clarendon.

The 150-machine gaming lounge, which has been in operation for three years, brags that over $465 million has been paid over in jackpots for 06/07.

It is a battle of semantics, it seems, because what goes on at the Acropolis is not seen as ‘gambling’ per se – it is called ‘relaxation’.

“To me, everybody has the right to spend their money how they want to,” says Ben. “Everybody has a right to relax how they want to. Most of the times people come for relaxation.”

Like in every other business he says there are peak and off-peak times and ‘regulars’.

Gaming lounges attract a certain type of clientele which Ben believes gives the lie to the argument that low-income earners will be enticed to blow their entire fortunes should casino gambling be legalised in Jamaica.

“We get celebrities, politicians, tourists, everybody. One of the good things is we don’t have anybody coming in and looking bedraggled and carrying on,” he says.

As to arguments that casino gambling provides the perfect cover for prostitution and illicit activities, the Acropolis, he says, has its own way of dousing those flames.

“No Solicitation” is part of the lounge’s prominently displayed rules. Attempts are made, but picking up partners is not allowed, he claims.

“That’s why we have to be on the floor constantly monitoring. We want to ensure that there is no “invasion of space”.

Interestingly, he says, while persons insist that their activities at gaming lounges cannot be called outright ‘gambling’, many do not want to be linked to the Acropolis at other times.

“Lots of the clientele don’t want to be recognised by us, perhaps if we see them outside of here,” he says. “Sometimes they don’t want family members to know or they don’t want to be stigmatised.”

Across the city at the Monte Carlo Gaming Lounge at the Terra Nova Hotel, the scene is not much different from the Acropolis but for the decor. The seemingly rich and bored frequent the floors of the lounge, which is open “almost 24 hours”. The Sunday Observer was, however, not allowed to speak with customers as part of a “strict customer privacy policy”.

“If you know your mom is here and you call and ask for her we won’t tell you she is here. People’s private life is their private life,” one floor manager tells the Sunday Observer.

The clientele here, too, is a mix of everyone 18 years and upwards, he says.

He anticipates that the proposed casino-gambling legislation will have a positive impact on operations such as that of the Monte Carlo. As to whether the revenues are significant enough to keep the doors of the establishment open, he says, “I guess it should. If none of them have been closing down, that should tell you. We have been open for four years now.”

The Sunday Observer, however, turned up empty when we attempted to speak with the management of the Treasure Hunt Gaming Lounge in New Kingston. “Come back tomorrow,” we were told.

Information regarding the level of profit realised by gaming lounges was not forthcoming from staff, and an attempt to elicit current data from the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission was not immediately successful.

“That request should be made in writing to the executive director of the commission. We do not give out information over the phone, especially to reporters,” the Sunday Observer was told.

However, information posted on the commission’s website showed that some $9.2 million was earned from licensing gaming machines in 2003, this after considerable efforts to regularise the sector in 2002. Only $1 million was earned from licensing gaming machines in 2002.

Former Finance and Planning Minister Omar Davies in 2005 announced that the tax structure in the gaming industry would be replaced by a Gross Profit Tax. Davies had said it was expected that the revised tax structure would result in a revenue gain of $300 million.

But despite the promise of riches, one of the loudest voices in protest against casino gambling in Jamaica has come from the church community, which has cited concerns about the social implications associated with the venture.

Concerns have been that in addition to providing an opening for further criminal activities, the gaming industry and Government would be lining their pockets at the expense of the poor, while the inflows from the sector would further widen the gap between rich and poor.

Just this January, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, while answering questions about the Government’s plans regarding casinos posed by member of parliament for Central Kingston, Ronnie Thwaites, said several proposals are being examined.

He said since the previous administration, proposals have been made regarding major investments which would involve the operating of casino facilities. According to Bartlett, the new administration is carefully examining these proposals before they are submitted to the Cabinet.

While neglecting to give details of the proposals or a timeframe for decisions to be made, Bartlett said prospective investors have been advised of the procedures.