The chairman of the Bahamas Gaming Board is recommending that residents of the country pay a 0 fee to gamble in casinos in order to discourage them from doing so.
The Bahamas has no casinos, but is considering legalizing them as well as online gaming. The fee would not be charged for tourists gambling.
The $200 fee is high enough to discourage most residents from playing, he said, because it exceeds what those making minimum wage would be able to afford.
“If, in order to just access a game, somebody has to pay a sum that would result in them losing more money than they can afford to lose, it would be a major deterrent to them. Paying $200 would result in a person losing more than they would make in a week if, in fact, they are someone who is making a minimum wage salary,” he said, according to the Tribune.
Besides discouraging people from gambling, Chairman Dr. Andre Rollins says the fee would also fund research into problem gambling and treatment. He noted that Singapore makes its citizens pay a fee in order to gamble. “Singapore obviously thought they had a moral or social obligation to discourage people from gambling and that is why they imposed an entry fee,” he said.
However, the chairman does not want to impose such a fee on gambling online. He explained, “Not charging entry levy fees for web shops would give Bahamians an incentive to develop gaming operations that are able to justify further investment in their operation. That could not happen if people are allowed to choose the hotel-based casinos and see them as far more attractive because they have a lot more capital to invest in a high-end product.”
