A Bermuda official says the island nation is behind schedule on developing gaming regulations, but hopes to have one up and running in time for the 2017 America’s Cup yacht race.
Bermuda Tourism Minister Shawn Crockwell said the Bermuda government is behind schedule for what he says is an ambitious deadline to have a casino by 2017 and thus far only has appointed a Gaming Casino Commission.
“Obviously, we would like to have it for the America’s Cup, when there is going to be that volume of people in Bermuda,” Crockwell told the Royal Gazette.
“The process has taken longer than I expected, but there are a lot of components to this. There has to be consultation with various bodies and there are so many things you have to do to make sure that, once we are up and running, we are not falling foul of international standards.”
Crafting gaming regulations takes time to ensure they work properly and are the most important component to complete before breaking ground on a casino, Crockwell said.
Those gaming regulations must go through the Parliamentary process, which can take a great deal of time, Crockwell said, but they should be completed during Parliament’s next session.
Once the regulations are done, Crockwell said the next step will be choosing a casino site and establishing training standards and programs for local Bermudians.
Eventually, Bermuda wants to have three casinos in operation and employing about 900 Bermudians, Crockwell said.
