Church leaders in Grenada have renewed their opposition to the introduction of casino gambling, following the announcement by Zublin Grenada that it had reapplied to the government for a licence to operate a casino here.

The company's chief executive officer, Dick Van Dyke, said Zublin was willing to work with the Tillman Thomas administration to ensure Grenada reaped the benefits of casino gambling.

The company, which is involved in a multi-million dollar tourism development project in the capital, had previously applied to the former Keith Mitchell government for a licence to operate a casino and had promised to invest more than EC$100 million (US$37 million) to develop the project.

Waiting for a response

"We have reapplied to this new (Tillman Thomas) government, citing the same reasons why we are applying," said company spokesman Winston Whyte.

"We are waiting for a response from this new administration, a response that we hope would be far more enlightened than what we have received in the past," Whyte told reporters.

Zublin's announcement has triggered a fresh outcry from church leaders who continue their campaign against casino gambling.

"We are opposed to casino gambling. We believe it is against Christian stewardship," said Pastor Desmond St Louis of the Pentecostal Church in Grenada.

"The only legitimate form of achieving benefit is through hard work," he stressed.

Major fight

The Methodist church also appears to be bracing for a major fight in the event the project receives State approval.

"We fought the government of St Lucia on that matter, we fought the government of Antigua, we set up strongly in Barbados against casino gambling and we will do so here in Grenada," said Reverend Tessica Hackshaw.

Prime Minister Thomas has said that public consensus will determine if a licence is given.

"We cannot just issue a licence. This is a community with traditional values and we have the churches and other organisations that may want to express their views. So before this is done we have to engage all the stakeholders and get the consensus of the community, and, if the community is not in favour of it, I can't see how we can proceed with it," Thomas told reporters.