Bahamas faces more casino competition

It is the latest pressure to figure on The Bahamas' gaming horizon, the islands have already seen fewer US gamblers traveling to these shores as more and more states in America liberalize their laws in a bid to bring in more state revenue.

Add to that Caribbean competitor Jamaica has recently ruled to allow casino in a bid to attract more tourists to its shores. The Florida bill now goes to Governor Charlie Crist who has already said he'd sign it. The measure must also be approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Under the compact, blackjack, baccarat, and similar games will continue to operate, as will the Las Vegas style slot games. Only five of the gaming centers on Florida will receive these table games, however.

Proponents to the bill revel in the fact that over us$ 400 million dollars can be infused into the state's budget on an annual basis. Revenue sharing, as well as up front costs, were included in the Bill. The Seminole Tribe will be required to pay a minimum of us$ 150 million a year for two years, with a minimum of us$ 223 million a year for the next three years after that.

In addition to the expanded casino gambling in the State, Florida legislature has also changed the rules surrounding poker rooms. Instead of holding a us$ 100 buy-in limit with relatively low stakes, there will soon be no cap on how much players may use to buy into cash games. Furthermore, the hours of operation have been boosted from 12 to 18 hours in a day. Tournament buy-ins have also been raised to carry no limit.

Back in January, the top man at Atlantis revealed casinos in The Bahamas were facing a major challenge from the legalization of gaming in the US.

George Markantonis, President/Managing Director, Kerzner International Bahamas, said traditional gambling destinations had suffered as state after state in the US moved to allow gaming and casinos in a bid to tap into new tax revenues.

He told The Nassau Guardian then: "The issue that our casino faces is that with the legalization of gaming across many of the states in North America we are starting to see a decline in the spend coming from Florida, New York, New Jersey.

"The casinos in Florida now have table games and slots, they are advancing them across the racetracks. I think that's going to get tougher and tougher for us because the 50 states in the United States need to find new sources of income, taxes to build schools, roads etc.

"The legalization of casinos one by one is going to impact our business because if you just have to drive down the street to go to a casino why would you go all the way to the airport, spend an hour and a half going through security, fly somewhere, go through customs and immigration just to go to a casino? That's going to be a challenge for us."