Dangers of permitting gambling in Cayman

The United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands has always opposed gambling. This is principally because it is contrary to our Christian beliefs, but it affects all of society, with the evidence that gambling leads to a deterioration of the social fabric as it exploits human weaknesses, undermines work ethic, leads to increased crime, is destructive of family life and promotes personal and institutional greed. It exploits the most vulnerable in society and represents a major transfer of resources from the very poor to the very rich.

The United Church understands that government needs to broaden its revenue base. Various proposals for a national lottery and casinos have been brought up in the past, giving similar reasons, namely that government was running out of options to raise revenue. However, the country has managed to get by and find ways to keep the country prosperous without resorting to legalised gambling. It can continue to do so. An editorial on the subject in the Christian Science Monitor said it well: “A nation that fosters a reliance on chance and officially endorses a culture of irresponsibility all in the name of increased revenues and free enterprise is certainly playing games with its moral foundations.”

Crime is a serious, escalating problem in the Cayman Islands. Statistics from around the world substantiate that gambling increases crime. The poor and the youth are most vulnerable but the problem of gambling can affect anyone regardless of age, gender, race, or social status. The Commonwealth nation of Australia, that has long advocated gambling as a national pastime, is now reviewing its policy because of the growing rate of addiction and the impact on the social fabric of the nation.

It is estimated that 10% of problem gamblers and two thirds of those who are receiving counselling have committed a crime because of their gambling. The first gambling-related crime is often perpetrated in the same year as, or just a few years after, starting regular gambling.

Gambling crime can be divided into four categories: illegal gambling, crimes committed to support a gambling habit, crimes that occur around the gambling locations, family abuse.

The major reason for gamblers to commit crimes is to fund their gambling activities. Gambling crime includes theft, forgery, embezzlement, fraud. It can also include domestic violence, assault, child neglect, suicide, prostitution, vandalism, breaking and entering, and home invasion. A significant amount of the crime related to gambling is not reported to authorities.

Organised crime has a big stake in the gambling industry. One former Florida gGovernor has said, “The Mafia follows gambling like sharks follow blood.” Casinos are particularly attractive to organised crime. Casinos present ideal opportunities for the skimming of profits as well as the laundering of moneys already earned through crime. Related crime such as loansharking and prostitution follow closely.

Local proponents of gambling emphasise the supposedly tremendous employment benefits but have not published hard facts to support this contention. In the US, there have been, instead, reports of the grave economic difficulties faced by many employees of casinos. We certainly cannot afford to have any more people in Cayman being employed in poverty creating jobs. A study published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis summarised that: “The employment effects of casino gaming are difficult to quantify. A casino may draw labor from outside of the local area, thus leaving local employment conditions unchanged … It is possible that casino gaming may reduce employment in other local industries... The net effect of gaming could be positive or negative depending upon the degree to which casino gaming substitutes for or complements consumption at other local businesses.”

That possibility should not be overlooked here, where existing businesses are struggling to maintain their individual share of the tourist’s wallet. With casino gambling now so readily available in the US and our neighbouring islands, surely the question must be asked as to how will Cayman outshine their gambling industries that would cause tourists to incur the higher expense of a Cayman vacation to do what they can do at home or in one of our lower-cost neighbours. Certainly it seems basic to ask how will gambling differentiate our tourism product from that of our competitors where it is already available. It is widely suggested that this blurring of our tourism product in recent years has been a major factor in its relative decline and instead we must seek to recapture the differential advantage we previously offered.

The Cayman Islands has traditionally been known for its friendly, hospitable, Christian, hard working people. Crime used to be almost non-existent. We must all work together to restore that reputation. Introduction of legalised gambling will not do this. Government has a moral responsibility to enact laws which do not undermine or weaken the moral fabric of society. Let us clearly convey this to our elected representatives as they seek to hear the will of the people. Cayman can learn from the serious problems encountered by other countries that have extensive gambling and not follow down that same path. Any potential short term gain does not justify the long term detrimental effects that gambling will have on our society.