A plan to bring the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission under ministerial control has been described as “flying in the face” of best practice and a “recipe for disaster” by overseas experts.
Industry insiders in the US, including one who helped to draft Bermuda’s casino gaming legislation, said the fledgeling industry needed a regulatory body that could make decisions without political interference and with a high degree of integrity.
They insisted the Casino Gaming Amendment Act 2017, tabled by tourism minister Jamahl Simmons last week in the House of Assembly, would jeopardise that and could have a “chilling effect” on the island’s progress towards entering the casino industry.
The bill would compel the commission to follow the directions of the minister and give him power to fire commissioners without cause.
