PUZZLING GAMBLE

There has been a drastic increase in the registration of slot machines across the island, but regulators at the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC) say they are still grappling with unscrupulous persons who continue to flout the law operating unregistered machines.

The BGLC last week said it has in its possession a total of 823 slot machines seized during crackdowns of establishments operating the unregistered equipment.

The total seizures were made in recent years predominantly at bars, and are part of a still-thriving illegal gambling culture in sections of the island.

Some 475 machines have been confiscated since 2021. This, even as the number of registered machines has grown from 9,000 to around 20,000 in the last year, BGLC executives noted.

At least 46 of the seized machines are currently slated for destruction after the BGLC was granted forfeiture by the courts. The owners of those machines have not come forward to claim them, said Noel Bacquie, BGLC enforcement director.

According to Bacquie, persons wishing to operate gaming machines must go through a screening process to ensure they are above board and are not involved in criminality. But several operators have been shying away from such scrutiny.

“I don’t know if it is the process that is pushing people away, but we have a lot of persons in the market that choose not to go through it,” offered Bacquie, noting that the computerised gaming machines can cost up to $500,000, and are most often made locally by unregistered manufacturers.

“From the gaming side, it is illegal to operate without a licence, and from the side of the operators, they are having a lot of theft and larceny of the machines,” he continued, adding that the majority of the machines were confiscated in the Corporate Area, St Catherine, St Elizabeth, St Ann, Clarendon and Trelawny.

“Even though they are in our possession, the law still states that they belong to an individual. So what we do is apply for forfeiture through the courts. We leave letters at the locations and ask persons to contact the commissioner,” he explained, adding that the offer is rarely ever taken up by the operators, who fear they will be prosecuted.

Bacquie said he has only eight investigators under his command, which is not enough based on the magnitude of work they endure.

“Once the courts award us forfeiture, then we destroy the machines at that point, but we have to keep them in our possession until then,” he said, explaining also that the owners of the machines are often separate from operators of the establishments.

Registered operators who have been found with illegal gaming boxes in their establishment are warned and any repeated offences could result in them losing their licences to operate, Bacquie explained. So far, only one person has been arrested for illegal machines.

MOST J’CANS HAVE GAMBLED

Bacquie’s statements followed a Gleaner Editors’ Forum last Wednesday in which the BGLC highlighted the results of a novel survey, Investigation of Adult Gambling in Jamaica. The study revealed that 63 per cent of Jamaicans have gambled in their lives, and that 34 per cent gambled within the last year.

Overall, Jamaica has a five per cent problem gambling prevalence as per the Canadian Problem Gambling Index, and of persons who gambled within the last year, 15 per cent were problem gamblers, while 22 per cent displayed moderate levels of problem gambling.

Problem gamblers, the study noted, are more likely to be young people aged 18 to 24; have a family history of gambling; experience high levels of stress; and use alcohol, ganja and cigarettes in the past 12 months.

The BGLC reported that currently there are 1,655 prescribed gaming premises, 623 prescribed premises operators, 346 gaming machine operators and 2,068 slot machines. There were also 15,519 locally manufactured gaming machines.

The gaming sector, they revealed, equated to $167 million in licence fees, $388 million in taxes, levies and contributions, and a total government revenue of $555.5 million.

While each locally made machine can cost up to half a million dollars, it costs operators a total of $10,000 – that is, $5,000 at the BGLC and $5,000 at the tax office – to register a machine. Still, illegal operators risk losing their investment over the relatively meagre fees, a puzzle to BGLC members who attended last week’s forum.

“We registered over 9,000 machines last year. This year, we have registered over 20,000 machines, and as you know, a lot of the illegal gaming is taking place using those illegal machines in establishments where there are no licences,” said BGLC Executive Director Vitus Evans last week.

“That increase from 9,000 to 20,000 came to us out of the blue … . It may well be that we need less investigators because more people are registering, but we need to look at what’s happening with our licensing division, our law-enforcement division and what is happening with our compliance,” said Evans, noting that currently, the BGLC has an 80 per cent compliance rate.

corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com