The Year Of Games

• Author: Derence A. Rolle Davis
• Pages: 129-132

The Law: The Social and Economic Effect on The Bahamas 2000 - 2020

27.

28. THE YEAR OF GAMES

In 2013 the government decided that a referendum would be held on

whether gaming in the form of web shops should be legalized. The majority

votes decided against the numbers games yet the result showed differently and

many considered it to be a trick, crying “no way, go away!”

Covertly illegal and clandestine gambling operations called "web shops"

where Bahamians bet on numbers that are televised U.S. lotteries had become

commonplace from as far back as one could remember. The shops operated in

violation of Bahamian law, but police and political leaders largely turned a blind

eye to them for years.

The 2013 referendum was held with the aim of legalizing and regulating

web shops and gambling to a degree and to establishing a national lottery, but

both proposals were rejected. Once the results were in, the country said a

resounding “No!” "This is a victory for the church,” “We are excited and thanking

God", said Dr. Ranford Patterson, President of the Bahamas Christian Council.

The Economic Effect

The belief in “getting without giving “will destroy the labour force and

mindset of many in the long term. Bargaining even when one has the means

available (that is those that have). The beneficial comfort can be seen in the need

to pay what something or a service is worth is obvious (for those that have not).

The disproportion is reflected in the many ways in which the economy has

developed. The law and its effect on society allowed for the first time in an

independent Bahamas, gambling for Bahamians. This was an unusual yet a

known secret activity for decades amongst many who engaged in the illegal

numbers game. Proponents for and against legalising gambling felt the sting or

stench of what the majority of the voters decided.

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