Two members have left the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission. Deputy Chairman Garry Madeiros stepped down after the agency’s most recent meeting, which also was the last to be led by Chairman Alan Dunch. He announced his departure last month after Tourism Minister Jamahl Simmons proposed an amendment that would grant him the authority to fire commissioners without cause. All five commissioners opposed Simmons’ amendment.
If approved, the amendment would require commissioners to follow “general directions” on policy given by the minister, and allow him to remove commissioners under circumstances he “considers appropriate.”
Dunch issued a statement on behalf of the commission warning the proposed amendment would give the minister the “power to interfere in all of the commission’s dealings and ongoing work. It means the minister is asking Parliament to give him an absolute, unchallengeable right to tell the commission what to do and the commission, despite its own convictions and expertise, will be unable to refuse. It means Bermuda’s gaming industry may essentially become an arm of the government. Who we issue gaming licences to and who we approve as operators may no longer be based on our internal and internationally recognized suitability standards, but those of the minister’s.”
Simmons said the government would move forward with the amendment, stating it would not allow him to influence license decisions.
Magistrate Cheryl Ann Mapp will replace Dunch as chairman. Others are Bermudians Judith Hall-Bean and Dennis Tucker, and Derek Ramm, director of anti-money laundering for the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. Executive Director Richard Schuetz resigned July 18 but will remain until the end of the year. A replacement has not yet been named.
