The offensive to introduce and legalise casino-gambling in Guyana is government-led rather than by popular or sectoral demand.  Even the sector most quoted as the beneficiary of this initiative, namely tourism, has pointedly distanced itself from the Bill.  Assertions that Guyana ’s nascent tourist industry, aimed at eco-tourists stands to benefit from casinos is nonsense.

The only logical explanation for the current Bill is that casino gambling flourishes in economies fuelled by high levels of organized crime, as in such places as Macau and pre-revolutionary Cuba.  In the context of lax monetary and tax regimes, high levels of smuggling, and poor regulation of financial transfers, casinos are primarily laundries.  All of these disreputable features of the Guyana economy were well-ventilated over the past twelve months by reputable international bodies in connection with drug trafficking in Guyana .

In our case, while the most vocal opposition has come from the religious sector, majority opinion against casinos is prompted more by fears that it represents another step in consolidating economic control by illegal enterprise.  There is solid popular resistance in Guyana to expansion of gambling opportunities in the form of casinos and the proliferation of slot-machines.  Surveys in other countries have shown majorities as high as 95 per cent of the public against the expansion of gambling opportunities by casinos and slot machines.

In addition to the long-standing association of organized crime with casino gaming, the aggressive new breed of global entrepreneurs encouraged by deregulation of every kind, pose a serious threat to any attempt to regulate local casinos.  No amount of assurances could convince Guyanese that casinos would not spawn activities ‘for the entire family’, grooming new generations of gamblers.  A recent Report by the UK’s Metropolitan Police Gaming Unit highlights similar concerns over the new breed of casinos about to be legalized.

They risk: “increasing antisocial behaviour …increasing organised crime and money laundering; and increasing access to gambling for children and vulnerable groups.  …Excessive drinking and gambling are a poor combination…with corresponding antisocial behaviour problems….increase access to gambling for children and vulnerable groups."  The Report further states: "This will happen, as it's in every developer's manifesto.  …Children will be taken to a gambling resort even if they are kept 50 yards away in another type of play room until they graduate at 18."
 
If the police in the UK with the wealth of resources and experience at their disposal express such misgivings, how can Guyanese have any confidence in our capacity to regulate and control gambling.  The fact that the original intention - of fashioning a Bill to allow only one hotel to meet the requirements for a casino license - had to be abandoned illustrates perfectly how future efforts at regulation will fare.  Market forces, not regulations, are the motor force driving all major illegal economic activity: arms sales, drugs, pornography, trafficking and gambling.

In a society such as Guyana in which a large portion of the population is stressed to make ends meet economically, the attraction of instant opportunities to get rich are powerful.  The general lawlessness of life in Guyana for several decades has eroded the link between hard work, thrift and prosperity.  Reward for high-risk, illegal behaviour both in the formal and informal economy has deepened inequalities without regard to effort or worth.  Casino gaming provides a powerful stimulus to gambling rather than work and effort as the road-map to prosperity.

Other pathologies generated by organized gambling are reflected in the fact that a number of studies conclude that two-thirds of addictive gamblers are women, reportedly escaping emotional pain of one kind or another, hoping for swift lifechanging luck.

Some commentators have noted that “lotteries do best when people lose faith in conventional government.  If you are not certain that the levers you have always pressed will lead to reward, then you are ever more prone to press the one which might offer something for nothing.  When work is no longer a reliable route to success, a big win in the lotteries or on the slot machines or in your online blackjack game looks increasingly attractive.“
 
The GHRA is also recommending to the Guyanese citizens to take note of how individual Members of Parliament vote on this matter.  In the interests of good governance, herd-like adherence to the voice of the party leaders on every issue must be seen as a thing of the past.  The lazy anonymity which our parliamentary system encourages has been a convenient shield for too long.  This Bill provides an ideal opportunity for MPs to act responsibly and in the national interest without putting their party at risk.