US Casino Company pulls plug on Bermuda Princess project

The withdrawal of a US firm has dealt a fresh blow to Bermuda's hopes of opening its first casinos — more than eight years since parliament gave them the green light

The Royal Gazette newspaper quoted a leading business source as saying heavy regulation, perception of a lack of independence for gaming authorities and failure by the Progressive Labour Party government to open up the banking sector enough have put the future of Bermuda hosting casinos in doubt

The comments come in the wake of a US firm, Century Casinos, dramatically pulling out of a planned gambling hub at the island's oldest hotel, the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club

The source told the Gazette that the government's relationship with the Bermuda Gaming Commission (BGC) was putting off US investors and banks becoming involved in setting up casinos on the island

Century Casinos cited the “current legislative framework” as a reason it had suddenly abandoned the Princess casino project after eight years' involvement

The source said banks on the island were unwilling to handle gaming proceeds as they could not secure a correspondent foreign bank and the regulatory regime raised doubts about whether profits could be made

The Princess said it had ceased searching

IDB to nance research on trade and environment in the Caribbean

Up to six research proposals related to the challenges of trade and the environment in Latin America and the Caribbean are to be financed by the Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) Institute for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean (INTAL) and the Interdisciplinary Institute of Political Economy of Argentina

'The Green Turn' call, directed at researchers, universities, and think tanks in Latin America and the Caribbean is open until February 28, and aims to support research that will contribute to the diagnosis of the current regional situation and policy recommendations specific on three thematic areas: environmental goods and services and productive/export supply; trade policy and environmental bias; and energy transition and international insertion

The call includes a line open to researchers in general and another aimed especially at young people up to 35 years of age

At the end of the process, six projects will be chosen each of which will receive a contribution of US$8,000 for a new operator until the BGC is able to provide a “viable path forward ”

In 2017, backers of the Princess casino predicted that it could create up to 100 jobs

The collapse of the project is a blow for the government, which made casinos one of its four key areas of economic stimulus quo as the

FBI intervenes

FSC board

The government said it is moving to review several pieces of financial sector legislation to apply more stringent penalties for breaches

The finance minister said the review is necessary to strengthen the country's ability to identify, investigate and prosecute financial crimes in the banking, securities, insurance, and pensions sectors

Among the legislation to be amended island grapples with a national debt of US$3 35 billion Despite being given a license, there is also still no date for the opening of a casino at the St Regis, the island's newest hotel at the east end which opened in 2021

“There is a problem with the regulatory environment as Century Casinos alluded to The US banks want gaming to be independent, and the BGC looks anything but A major disincentive is that Bermuda gaming regulation just does not look independent,” the source said

However, a government spokeswoman insisted that the BGC was independent, adding: “Any suggestion of influence over the commission is patently false ”

With the collapse of the project drawing international attention, Craig Cannonier, the One Bermuda Alliance (OBA) tourism spokesman, has called on Premier and Tourism Minister David Burt, who had earlier confidently predicted the first casino would open by the end of 2021, to hold urgent talks with licensees, banks and regulators to deal with the situation fromA1 include the Securities Act, Banking Act, Insurance Act, and the Pensions Act

“We will stiffen the penalties for whitecollar crime in the financial sector The discrepancy between the sanctions for white collar crime and other forms of crime must be erased,” Clarke said, adding “if you rob depositors or you defraud investors and you put our financial systems and our way of life at risk, the Jamaican society wants you to be put away for a long time”

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