The proposal from Govern-ment to introduce casino gambling, according to Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon is not a done deal and all stakeholders would be given a chance to press their case.
Responding to queries from members of the media on Thursday, he said he was certain that once the terms and specifics of the proposed legislation are made publicly available and presented to the House, everyone would have their say.
“The presence of the bill should not in any way lead to a conclusion that consultations are over,” Luncheon said.
The casino gambling proposal had faced opposition from various religious groups, particularly Christians and Muslims.
The government expects to lay the casino gambling legislation in Parliament on January 11 with the expectation that the debate on and passage of the bill would be completed at the earliest time thereafter.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds when contacted recently by this newspaper on the status of the legislation had noted that it had been submitted to parliament for distribution to members.
Government is hoping to push the bill through Parliament in time for Cricket World Cup and to accommodate Buddy’s International Hotel and Resorts, which would apparently be the only hotel eligible to receive the licence in the first instance.
The CIOG, the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, the Guyana Arya Samaj, the Guyana Council of Churches, the Guyana Evangelical Council and the Central Islamic Organisation of Guy-ana are among the organizations that have been vocal in arguments against casino gambling which they say would not be good for Guyana.
Views range from casino gambling being a bad habit to a consensus that there were other areas of economic activity in which revenue could be earned and a call to the government to encourage investment in areas where people could earn ‘clean money’.
