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Calling estimations of money spent locally and abroad on games of chance "a shot in the dark" former FNM Cabinet Minister Zhivargo Laing, who is trained in economics, said any figures given cannot be trusted.
Speaking with The Bahama Journal recently about the pros and cons of legalizing gambling in the Bahamas, Mr. Laing scoffed at the projections given by government officials that 60 percent of the Bahamian population is spending between $1.8 million to $2 million locally and abroad on games of chance each week.
Chairman of the Gaming Board Kenyatta Gibson reported that The Florida Lottery conservatively estimates that $US100 million is spent every year by Bahamians playing the Florida Lottery.
Mr. Gibson also suggested, "This is money that we can keep here in The Bahamas."
Mr. Laing said these figures are not reliable and could be manipulated to support the position of the persons making the assertions.
"No one knows, and there is nothing that anyone that I know of has at the moment that can provide any kind of sensible intelligent data on that," he said.
Mr. Laing opposes legalizing gambling, but not everyone in Grand Bahama feels that way.
"I think they should legalize house gambling because it has two advantages," said Alfred Knowles, a Grand Bahama resident.
"People don’t have to sneak around doing [it]…You cannot stop it," Mr. Knowles said. "Bahamians are going to gamble. Since you cannot stop it, why not let the country benefit from it?"
Balwin Darling, another resident, noted that gambling has been around for many, many years and will continue to be around.
"Those who like to gamble, let them gamble and those who oppose it then they can stay away from gambling," Mr. Darling said.
"[Many] persons who are around selling numbers that is their livelihood. A lot of them don’t have a job and they are turning to that. That is the way they are feeding their families as opposed to stealing or something else like that."
Mr. Darling said he believes gambling should be legalized because of the amount of money that Bahamians spend outside the country that could be used in the local economy.
Jamal Hollingsworth noted that legalizing gambling in The Bahamas could have negative implications.
"Legalizing [gambling] would encourage people who don’t play numbers to play numbers. In doing that it will cause them to use money that they’re not supposed to use," Mr. Hollingsworth said.
"It will also bring down persons’ self esteem and the value of people because they are going to go all over the place gambling, but they are not winning and that could lead to the increase in crime."
Laketa Parker, another resident, agreed that gambling could be detrimental to families. While she said legalizing gambling could contribute to the economy, she said the negative effects would be great.
"The bad thing about it is you would have men, for example, who would use their paycheck and play numbers, neglecting their families," Ms. Parker said.
Mr. Laing, meanwhile, pointed to what he sees as additional negatives to gambling
"There are people who value and enjoy the prospect of spending little and getting much, notwithstanding that chance is against them in that regard," he said. "Because they are giving up a little at a time, they don’t tend to feel as if it’s going to hurt them that much.
"But those are the same sort of people who do not realize that that same expenditure if placed in savings over a 20-year period of time could produce for them a nest egg they can retire on."
Mr. Laing said persons should work for what they get.
"I always thought as human beings that we should strive to do the best thing we could do and not the convenient thing we might be able to do," he said.
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