Jamaica Eyes 2020 For First Operational Regulated CasinoMinister Of Tourism Warns Island Won't Become "Casino Destination" |
|
Casino gambling could soon be coming to Jamaica, according to reports by government officials. Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett was speaking at a business conference at the Sandals Montego Bay Resort when he confirmed that a yet-to-be-named casino property is expected to be open and taking bets by 2020.
Jamaica passed legislation in 2010 that paved the way for casinos, and even awarded preliminary approval to two projects in 2015. However, these projects have failed to ever get started.
Although Bartlett was optimistic about the new casino’s opening date, he was careful to stress that Jamaica doesn’t need gambling to continue to thrive as a tourism destination.
A record 4.3 million people visited in 2017, contributing about $3 billion to the Caribbean island’s economy. About 2 million of them were cruise passengers, while the rest stayed at least one night.
“We have shied away from gaming as a structured path of the tourism experience for a long time for a number of reasons, one of which has been the experiences that we have looked at in other places… and we question very much whether or not we would be able ourselves to manage and be able to deal with the negative impact of it,” said Bartlett.
“The fact is that casinos for Jamaica [are] not a requirement for our growth but within the context of the integrated development model, casino gaming is a driver for exponential growth. So we do not see Jamaica ever becoming a casino destination but rather a destination in which casino gaming is available.”
Bartlett stressed that casinos would only add about 2 percent to GDP. He went on to say that gambling wouldn’t make up more than one-fifth of resort revenue.
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
