Alan Dunch, chairman of the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission, recently said “exploratory talks” were being held with five major international casino operators. The commission’s Executive Director Richard Schuetz said if the talks are fruitful, “That would put this place on the map.” Schuetz noted, “There would be free media if that happens. That would be news. Secondly, those guys have a name for a reason. They deliver. They win. When I’m making a hotel reservation, if it’s Bob and Tom’s hotel I don’t know what that means, but if it’s the Hyatt Regency I kind of know what that’s going to mean. Brands are important. Brands are hugely important in tourism.”
Schuetz pointed out, “The new model is that casinos are part of the product around the globe and that’s only growing.” He noted casino gaming is available worldwide so offering it in Bermuda would help the island compete for tourism. “Now when travelers are shopping, they say maybe they should go to the Bahamas because they like their casino. They say, ‘I like the water, I like the beaches, I like the entertainment, I like the restaurants, but I also like to play a little.’” He added, “Right now we are competing with Singapore, we are competing with the Bahamas, we are competing with Jamaica who’s going to launch a casino product. It might be that quaint still sells, but there is a concern.”
Schuetz also noted opponents of gambling have expressed concerns about money laundering and gaming addiction, pointing out the issues involved in bringing gambling to Singapore. “There are issues, and there have to be policies in place, but typically if you look at experience after experience there is a group of people who say it’s going to be bad, but if you look at the states in the U.S. that offer casinos, any of the European or Asian countries, name one jurisdiction that said those people were right and that it was a mistake. Not one jurisdiction has ever done that. I’m not saying there’s not a downside, but name an industry where there isn’t a downside?” he said.
The downsides of casinos frequently are mitigated by providing jobs, Schuetz said. “Casinos have proven themselves time and time again as an agent of employment. The other analysis people don’t do is comparing it to the illegal stuff that’s going on. So much of that now is on the internet. There’s no tax revenue, there’s no protection and it’s not labor intensive, or labor intensive a little bit in Costa Rica or wherever they are located.”
In addition, Schuetz said a problem gaming council would be created when casino gambling comes to Bermuda. He said he has consulted with Keith White, director of the National Council on Problem Gambling in the U.S. “I was talking about him coming here because I want him to give a lecture,” Schuetz said.
He added a call center and a self-exclusion program also would be established for problem gamblers. “No other industry has those controls,” Wouldn’t it be great if you were an alcoholic if you sign something and no one can sell you a drink and, if they do, it’s a violation of the law? But we don’t impose that. This is a mental health area. This is not a morals area. I would like to see trained treatment providers on this, and we will develop systems that will cause that to happen.”
