Bermuda to Set Referendum on Casino Gaming

Bermuda will hold a public referendum on the establishment of casino gaming in the territory later this year, said Shawn Crockwell, the country’s tourism minister. In local press reports issued Monday, Crockwell said his talks with stakeholders from other Caribbean destinations at the recent Caribbean Hotel and Resort Investment Summit made it clear that Bermuda’s hospitality industry lags far behind other regional destinations. He said casino gaming could be the “game changer” to incentivize new hotel development in Bermuda.

“This government will [introduce] the gaming referendum bill this session and we expect to hold a referendum at the end of summer or beginning of fall,” said Crockwell. He called it “sobering” that several Caribbean tourism destinations have experienced a “turnaround” in tourist arrivals in 2013 while Bermuda’s arrivals are down six percent, “and we are still in decline,” Crockwell told the Bermuda Royal Gazette. “As a country we must decide if we want to be in the tourism business or not.” He added that Bermuda will host its first investment summit for hoteliers in June.

Governments must provide financial incentives to attract development, Crockwell said, because investment funds are hard to obtain due to wary banks and a dwindling of private equity capital. Casinos were “crucial” to new hotel development in several Caribbean countries currently posting strong tourist arrival numbers, including the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, said Crockwell. Earlier this year Crockwell said Bermuda was considering establishing its first casinos as a means of reversing the country’s declining tourist arrivals.

Source: Travel Pulse, http://www.travelpulse.com/bermuda-to-set-referendum-on-casino-gaming.html