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THE CASINO SHOULD BE OPEN TO ALL

Mar 04, 2010 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

The Constitution of Guyana protects against discrimination on the grounds of place of birth. Thus any law which is said to discriminate against Guyanese on the basis of their place of birth can be subject to challenge as being inconsistent with the highest law of the land.
A law was passed in Guyana to facilitate the establishment of casino gambling. A casino has been established in Guyana in conformity with the law. However, Guyanese are debarred from entry into the casino. Apart from the law itself there are strong moral arguments as to why this prohibition makes no sense.
The basis of the prohibition is a compromise that the government struck, mindful of the protests of the religious community. One of the arguments made by the religious community was that casino gambling would exacerbate social problems in the country and lead to increased crime and also create crises in family life.
There has been no empirical evidence produced that casino gambling has increased social problems. Like all forms of gambling, including the lottery, casino gambling has its risks. And until such time as there is definitive proof produced that casino gambling will increase crime and problems in family life, the arguments on these scores need to be taken as mere possibilities.
There are tens of Guyanese who make their living directly each day by gambling. They are called punters. There have been no complaints that these persons are contributing to social and family problems. Gambling is rife in Guyana, both bottom house gambling and legal forms of gambling such as the lottery and horse racing betting shops. Guyanese are allowed to play the lottery and to place bets at the bookies but are not permitted to enter a casino.
It was ironic that the very persons who railed against the establishment of casino gambling did not see the contradiction in not opposing the lottery or horse race gambling which are legal in Guyana.
In fact, the probability of winning the lottery is far more remote than winning on the tables in a casino. A gambler has a greater chance of winning on the casino table than he has at winning the lottery. So would it not be fairer to allow the people of Guyana to play the casino tables than to play the lottery?
The second moral argument has to do with establishing a facility in Guyana only for foreigners. Now this from a moral point of view is totally unacceptable and is an affront to the people of Guyana. How can this country be said to be for Guyanese when a casino is created which does not cater for Guyanese? Private property is private property, but once there is a facility in which the public has access, then no Guyanese should be denied entry.
If casino gambling is going to be allowed in Guyana, if it is, as it has been, going to be licensed, then there is a need to remove the restrictions on nationals. Why should Guyanese be disallowed from entering local casinos? The rule of thumb should be that if it is not good for Guyanese, it should not be good for anyone.
Guyana no doubt acceded to legalizing casino gambling in order to support the tourism market. But this market is too fledging to survive on its own. While casinos are known to fly in guests to gamble, Guyana is competing with other destinations and thus we have to ensure that if we are plugging casinos for their economic value that they are given the sort of support that is necessary.
Casinos in Guyana are not going to survive without locals. And therefore the authorities need to take a serious look at our laws which deny nationals the right to enter a casino. In short if Guyanese are good enough to sweep the casino and operate the tables, we ought to be good enough to play the slot machines.

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