Gambling debate postponed in Bermuda

However, United Bermuda Party leader Kim Swan said this week that MPs had been too busy with the Budget in recent weeks to study it properly. He asked Dr. Brown to put back the debate until the House reconvened after Easter, by which time public consultation on the Green Paper will have ended.

Premier Brown said last night: "We surely don't want to have a debate without giving everyone time to examine the report fully. "Therefore we will carry over the discussion of the Green Paper until the first day of the next session of Parliament, May 7s."

Swan said: "I think it is a wise thing to do considering the points that we made. I was pleased that he took that approach. "We have been focused on the Budget and busy in the many hours of debate it entails. We need time to go over the Green Paper in detail, canvass our constituents and discuss it as a group."

The Green Paper recommends that a casino be permitted here and that some of the revenue it generates be used to tackle social ills associated with gambling. It includes reports by a local task force on gaming and the US-based InnovationGroup.

The public has until April 30 to give feedback and a vote in Parliament on allowing gaming on the Island is expected soon. Tuesday's debate would not have involved a vote and was simply on a "take note" motion tabled by Brown on March 5, when he brought the Green Paper to the House.

Senator Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, the Tourism Minister of the Bahamas, is due to give a presentation here on gaming on Thursday.