The government continues with its plans for a controversial law
The Guyana government continues with its plans for a controversial gambling law that has been criticized by several groups. Yesterday, while the Parliament was discussing the bill, there were protests outside the building and a petition signed by 40,000 detractors was presented.
Meanwhile, inside the Parliament an opposition motion was moved seeking for a study to measure the possible impacts of the law. The debate on the motion went on for hours until Prime Minister Sam Hinds spoke to deny the claims that the government ignored the opinion of religious groups.
“The government was respectful of the opinions of the religious community as well as other civic groups,” Hinds said. “The government simply does not accept that it would be helpful to pursue the proposal for a study, since it might take more than three months and would in any case bring stakeholders to the same point.”
On the other hand, Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee read the ‘Gambling Prevention (Amendment) Bill 2006 to the General Assembly. He talked about the importance of tourism in the country’s economy and stated that casino gambling would boost tourism and therefore it would contribute to the growth of the economy.
The Guyana government continues with its plans for a controversial gambling law that has been criticized by several groups. Yesterday, while the Parliament was discussing the bill, there were protests outside the building and a petition signed by 40,000 detractors was presented.