A proposal by the Government and tourism interests to give all Jamaicans access to the large-scale casino gambling that is to be introduced in western Jamaica soon, has been blasted by University of the West Indies (UWI) academics who said the decision was not informed by the best interests of the country.

The heated difference of opinion played out yesterday at the UWI’s one-day policy conference in Montego Bay to examine the impact of gaming on the society. There, Diaram Ramjee Singh, lecturer in Managerial Economics at the UWI, blasted the Government’s decision which was articulated by minister of tourism Ed Bartlett earlier during the first session.

“Public policy is not dictated by what is best for the country, but for those who have influence,” said Singh. “Why create more problems? All the research papers have pointed in one direction, that casinos should be an export activity. That implies it should not be open to locals. The underlying assumption of our paper is that it will not be open to locals.” MORE