Howard Hamilton

INTEREST IS again being shown in the introduction of 'real' casino gaming as an enhancement of our tourism product. So many studies have been done showing the urgent need for enhanced entertainment in this sector. What satisfied one million visitors five years ago cannot satisfy 4 million ( and growing ) visitors today. We have to find, and urgently too, additional entertainment for these millions of new visitors.

This column will continue its relentless advocacy for legalised casino gaming as an integral part of our tourism product.

An overview of the tourism industry in the Caribbean shows that, while recovery is occurring faster in some than in others, those that feature gaming as a facet of their tourism product are recovering at a faster rate than others. Analysts attribute this to the fact that casinos have enabled those destinations to afford more powerful and, yes expensive marketing efforts to win visitors back.

There are 16 destinations in the Caribbean offering gaming. Eight are independent countries, four are Dutch, two are French and two are American. They are led by Aruba, the Bahamas, Curacao, Puerto Rico and St. Maarten.

These jurisdictions approach gaming in different ways. Some prevent their citizenry from active involvement in gambling, while others do not and count local patronage as a legitimate factor in their business.

The history of all this can be traced back to the 1959 Cuban Revolution, which precipitated the closure of that island and its gaming to Americans. Many islands in the region quickly snapped up the opportunity, an opportunity that was facilitated by increase in jet travel and the year-round appeal of air conditioned resorts.

Rotten to the core

Of course, selective memory will cause some to point to the fact that Cuba's gambling industry was rotten to its core, being run largely by American mobsters who could not operate at home. This is true, just as true as the fact that Cuba's entire government was rotten to its core, to the extent that Castro and his comrades actually had wide international support, led by the United States.

Selective recall, however, will permit nay-sayers to use the Cuban example to condemn gaming, yet to escape the conclusion that because government in Cuba was as rotten as its gaming industry, that governments are inherently rotten.

Victor Lopez, former vice president of Hyatt in charge of its operations in the Caribbean, has been with the firm since 1985 and involved with the development of their properties in the region including those in Puerto Rico and Aruba. His opinion is that "As more and more people are attracted to the Caribbean and the competition gets tougher, casinos are an added attraction, especially for Americans, as they take more and longer vacations and look increasingly for other diversions. People are more and more active today and look at a casino as another attraction in addition to golf and other sports and entertainment".

Caribbean Hotel Association's executive director says "Gaming is a key issue in tourism development in the Caribbean. When you look at 200-room resorts, one with a casino and another without, obviously the presence of a casino makes a world of difference."

It is obvious that acceptance of gaming as an entertainment component of the modern tourism product mix is conventional thinking. Sorry gentlemen, we prefer less conventional approaches.

An interesting news item received international distribution recently. It seems that the Atlantis casino/resort/attraction on Paradise Island in The Bahamas has figured out a way to increase its already enormous profits by extending its gaming reach through an imaginative deal with British Telecom.

Atlantis's parent company, Sun International Hotels has cut a deal with BT's mass market Internet division, BT openworld, to jointly develop an online betting venture that will help to market its Paradise Island's Atlantis resort to potential new tourists.

In December 2001, Sun International formed a company called Sun Online, which has now formed a partnership with BTopenworld to offer regular joint promotions with Atlantis in addition to making available Sun Online's range of downloadable and casino games.

The deal makes BT openworld the first Internet Service Provider to sign up with Sun Online. The company, which has 1.3 million customers for its mass market Internet business is aiming to create a top online sports and betting service in the belief this sector will be one of the top Internet revenue earners.

'Sport & Bets' service

BT openworld's 'Sport & Bets' service will focus on four gaming areas - casinos, sports betting, lotteries and bingo - and will be developed in conjunction with strategic partners, such as Sun Online. In return, Sun International Hotels will gain extra exposure for Atlantis, particularly in the United Kingdom and European tourist markets.

Of course, all this gives the lie to anti-gaming propaganda about the industry being a hive of activity for shady types and that gaming is an industry that well thinking people like Jamaicans, would do well to shy away from. British Telecom hardly fits the shady character profile.

Perhaps Minister Phillip Paulwell would have done much to advance his political fortunes, had he been free to pursue initiatives of this type, instead of the shady quagmire in which he has been bogged in his haste to make Jamaica the ecommerce centre of the region.