Bermuda is considering making itself a haven for online casinos looking for a nation in which to base. The discussion comes despite pressure from some nations, most especially the United States, to curtail online gambling operations.The country's head executive, Premier Emil Brown, is looking for ways to relieve his nation's economic dependence on tourism. While tourists bring millions to Bermuda, conditions such as the current global slowdown leave Bermuda subject to the volatility of other nations' economies.
Brown cites the example of Antigua, which, in 2000, generated $37.5 million in taxes and 3000 jobs through the online gambling industry. Antigua officials asserted that the Internet casinos based in their country gave poor people a chance to build a better lifestyle without drug smuggling.
Of course, the Antigua model was ruined by the United States in 2006 with the passage of the UIGEA. Even though Antigua has won damages against the U.S. from the World Trade Organization, there has been no settlement yet.
Still, the political atmosphere in Washington is changing, and many experts expect the U.S. Congress to legalize and regulate online casinos in the near future. When that occurs, countries that have online gambling sites based in them can expect a major boom in business.
Brown has also recently considered opening casinos on the island, and laws were relaxed regarding gambling on docked cruise ships. Brown's predecessor as Premier, Renee Webb, had a refreshing statement about online gambling. "I was publicly in support of legalising gambling. Firstly, because it already exists through bingo, horse-racing, football pools and Crown and Anchor. So you are not legalizing gambling but extending what already exists islandwide."
It is interesting to see a politician actually deal with reality, rather than an invented mush of religious morality and imagined Pleasantvilles.
Published on October 30, 2008 by EdBradley
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