NASSAU, Bahamas —  PRIME Minister Perry Christie has defended the introduction of legislation dealing with gaming and financial transaction reporting, saying it signals “the dawn of a new era in the licensing and regulation of the gaming in The Bahamas”.

Christie told Parliament that the country was now establishing itself “as a cuttingedge and thoroughly modern gaming jurisdiction, operating in accordance with international standards of best practice, underpinned by robust legislation and careful and comprehensive regulation”.

He told legislators that the newly tabled legislation underscores the overriding objective of his administration to modernise the licensing and regulatory dispensation in relation to gaming, ensuring its vibrancy, attractiveness and competitiveness in an increasingly demanding global market.

Last week, the main opposition Free National Movement (FNM) criticised The Bahamas government over the decision to introduce the new legislation saying it was “a violation of every principle of trust, accountability, transparency and fairness owed by a government to the people”. The FNM said that the government had taken the population through a “meaningless public relations exercise and an opinion poll on the Gaming Referendum” adding that the Christie government had “committed to respect the results of that failed referendum”.

But Prime Minister Christie told legislators that the objective of the government has also been to ensure that The Bahamas as a gaming jurisdiction would engender public confidence in the integrity of the operations authorised by gaming-related licences, through the enactment of world-class legislation. “We are proud to say that the legislative instruments tabled indeed comply with all these critical requirements and more,” he said, insisting that in developing the legislation, the government had taken into account the views of various stakeholders.

“This has required mature reflection and frank discourse regarding the forms of gaming which have taken root in the domestic market in The Bahamas over the years, and the manifold implications of permitting these to continue in an unregulated environment.” Prime Minister Christie said that he remains confident that the gaming legislation comfortably meets, and in some respects even surpasses, all of these demanding criteria.

“No effort has been spared to ensure that this is indeed the case. The Gaming Bill itself encapsulates all of the key policy positions adopted by the Government in relation to the licensing and regulation of gaming in The Bahamas. “Its purpose is to put in place a solid and predictable legal framework for the comprehensive, modern, transparent licensing and regulation of all gaming sectors in The Bahamas in a manner which protects the integrity of the industry and engenders public trust.” In his contribution, Prime Minister Christie said the government has worked diligently over the past several years to strengthen and secure the international reputation of the country, especially as it relates to the vital financial services industry.

“Through our ongoing actions, it is of paramount importance that we persevere in the protection of our solid reputation as to compliance with standards of international best practice in the area of financial services regulation and the effective mitigation of risks.” Christie said that a number of international financial agencies were monitoring gaming and other operations in The Bahamas and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force has taken a particular interest in the area of gaming. He said that the government pledged to hold a national referendum on the webshops in its Charter for Governance. “We were faithful to that pledge and, following the referendum, we ordered the closure of all webshops.

This was followed by legal action by the webshops. One should have no illusion that the world community did not take note of these developments. “ In the circumstances and, given the need to secure the valuable international reputation of our nation, the only responsible thing to do is to place the webshops within the ambit of a responsible and effective regulatory regime.

“The government simply has had no choice in this matter. That reality was clearly recognised by our predecessors as well and all will know that they were well along the path of developing a legal and regulatory framework for the webshops prior to the last election.” Christie said that were his administration to ignore this matter, the international community would respond and it is likely that a pall would be cast over The Bahamas as a place to do business. “If the Caribbean FATF were to come to negative conclusions as to our regulatory regime and the risks that it entails, there could be a very serious fallout and quite dire consequences indeed for our national economic prosperity,” he told legislators.

— CMC