In Bermuda, Shadow Minister Michael Dunkley questioned the status of the territory’s 4-year old plan to introduce casino gaming on the island. He said, “Time has raced on and it seems as if nothing, or very little, has taken place. If gaming is not set up properly, it will not work for the betterment of Bermuda, our people and the investors.”
In 2016 Bermuda’s parliament approved the Casino Gaming Amendment Act, an update of the late Tourism Minister Shawn Crockwell’s 2014 bill establishing up to three integrated resort casinos in Bermuda. Designed to combat recent declines in tourist numbers, the approval of gaming was connected to a 262-year lease granted to developer Desarrollos Hotelco Group to construct a 120-room luxury hotel in the St. George’s district, operating under the St. Regis brand. Plans also called for a spa, renovated golf course, residential condominiums and a casino.
Dunkley also questioned what was being done to fill the vacant executive officer’s post for the Bermuda’s Casino Gaming Commission. Casino industry expert Richard Schuetz resigned from the position in August 2017 for “personal reasons” after serving two years.
“No doubt the executive office is critical to the effectiveness of the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission and it would be appropriate that we knew that somebody was on the ground doing the necessary work,” Dunkley said.
While Schuetz resigned for “personal reasons,” he also said Bermuda should “seriously consider” forgetting the gaming plan.
“My primary reason for resigning is that I have lost confidence that the government of Bermuda and its legal system can provide the necessary protections to offer well-regulated casino gaming on the island. I sincerely believe that this island will prove incapable of keeping people with questionable backgrounds and behaviors away from the industry,” Schuetz said. He also opposed an amendment to the gaming legislation placing the gaming commission under ministerial control.
But Bermuda legislators want to move forward with establishing gaming in the territory. Dunkley stated, “Our tourism industry is on the rebound thanks to a lot of hard work over the last five years by the former government and our partners. Gaming can be another exciting amenity for our visitors and we must make it happen.”
Minister of Economic Development and Tourism Jamahl Simmons noted the “delay occurred under the previous administration,” which was headed by Dunkley. “We have been working diligently in the attorney general’s chambers to get these regulations right,” Simmons said. He progress on gambling stalled one month before Dunkley’s party, the One Bermuda Alliance, lost power. “Progress continued to stall, and require new leadership to free the blockage,” he said.
