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Published on August 25th, 2013 | by Mark Smith

The Bahamas Contemplating Online Gambling

The Bahamas is a popular tourist destination known for its natural beauty and is situated close to Cuba and near the Florida Keys in the U.S.

Many of the visitors to the Bahamas visit the casinos that are dotted around the 700 islands that make up the area.  However, visitors are often kept away for months at a time due to the violent tropical weather that wreaks havoc on the tourist industry and caused the slots and table games to stand empty.

The sun kissed tropical country relies heavily on the tourist trade in order to support its more than 350,000 residents

The hurricanes that the Bahamas experience during summer and autumn puts a huge dent in the country’s economy and has resulted in discussions being brought up with regard to possibly permitting online gambling in an effort to offset casino losses during these months that keep the tourists away.

Uri Clinton, a representative for the Baha Mar Casino & Hotel, revealed that nobody wants to travel to the Bahamas during the hurricane season but that they still have thousands of employees to support during this period as well as hundreds of contractors and local vendors to pay.

Clinton is amongst several pro-active individuals who are endeavouring to push the idea of introducing online gambling in the country in the hope that this will offset the losses experienced by the casinos during the hurricane season.  It is felt that the introduction of online gambling will allow the Bahamas to generate tax revenue.

A conference titled “Shrinking the Global Divide: Synergy, Service and Sustainability” has been scheduled to take place in the country from 18^th to 20^th September at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort in order to discuss online gambling from a legal and economic perspective.  Clinton will be amongst the speakers at the conference.

Tags: bahamas, online casinos