| Bermuda passes revisions in gaming law (2016/11/30) |
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The national House of Assembly passed the legislation that will allow casinos to open in the island. The Casino Gaming Amendment Act 2016 was finally passed along with the Casino Gaming Designation Site Orders for the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club on Hamilton Harbour and the St Regis Hotel in St George’s. The initiative started back in December 2015, and it was later passed with a whole lot of criticism from parliament opposition members and the One Bermuda Alliance. The current Act features some measurements from the act passed back in 2014, and it includes a two-year moratorium on public officers becoming involved in the gaming business.
One of the clauses in the bill stated that operators of the St Regis hotel in St George would receive a provisional license. David Burt, opposition leader, said: “If we set this precedent today, every developer is going to ask for the same thing, and they would be well within their rights to demand it.”
Michael Fahy, tourism minister, said that the Bermuda Government is well aware of the issues that surround banking the proceeds from gaming. “It is important that we have a robust regulatory regime to demonstrate to both local banks and their overseas correspondent banks that adequate know-your-client and anti-money laundering provisions are in place. As we move ever closer to having gaming in Bermuda through the allocation of casino gaming licences via the Casino Gaming Commission we will ensure that such robust provisions are in place to give comfort to our partners that our regime is of a first-class standard,” he added.
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