The carefully crafted law that permitted casino gaming to become legal on the island of Bermuda was gutted last week when the nation’s House of Assembly passed a law that would permit Minister of Tourism & Economic Development Jamahl Simmons to dismiss any member of the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission for any reason.
Simmons contended that an amendment to the bill that requires the commission to follow the directives of the tourism minister, requires a specific reason for any dismissal: “The minister may at any time revoke the appointment of a member who is unable or unwilling to perform his duties as a member or in such other circumstances where the member’s conduct may amount to misconduct or breach of best regulatory practice, or is likely to bring the commission or the government into disrepute.”
Leah Scott, the deputy leader of the One Bermuda Alliance, said the original intent of the casino gaming law was that the commission should be totally independent of political pressure and should be maintained, urging the government to reject the new law.
Simmons criticized “stereotypes” that actually describe the situation he’s created.
“The government has been subjected to a calculated, malicious and divisive media campaign surrounding the issue of gaming,” he said in a debate in the House. “A calculated, malicious and divisive campaign designed to resurrect the deplorable stereotype held by a few of a Progressive Labor Party that is inherently corrupt, inherently dictatorial and inherently incompetent.”
He also turned the tables on the gaming commission, which had pointed out the nation’s inadequacies of dealing with anti-money laundering directives from international groups. Simmons claimed that the commission didn’t follow those directives, when it actually wanted stricter rules put in place.
“Attempts to receive cooperation from the previous incarnation of the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission on this critical assessment were not forthcoming, with a non-participation in the National Anti-Money Laundering Committee’s National Risk Analysis, failure to provide the requested presentation for the related workshops and failure to provide the analysis and conclusions of the working group that the commission was chairing.
“This lack of cooperation jeopardized our ability to meet our obligations and was not acceptable to this government and I am sure would not be acceptable to the people of Bermuda.”
Members of the opposition One Bermuda Alliance said the passage of the bill would damage the nation’s casino industry. Former Premier Michael Dunkley called the measure “draconian” and insisted that the commission be “apolitical as possible.”
As a result of the meddling and interference by Simmons, three of the five members of the commission have resigned. Chairman Alan Dunch, Deputy Chairman Garry Madeiros and Derek Ramm have stepped down. Dennis Tucker and Judith Hall-Bean remain as members. Cheryl-Ann Mapp was named to replace Dunch and “consulted” with Simmons on the bill.
Commission Executive Director Richard Shuetz resigned in July, citing “personal and professional reasons” saying he had lost confidence in the government and the legal system to offer well-regulated casino gaming on the Island, and that Bermuda needed to take a more mature attitude concerning its AML protections for its betting products.
