Thursday, January 11, 2007

Our government has an-nounced its plan to legalise casino gambling ahead of
the much-anticipated 2007 Cricket World Cup. The proposed legislation has
been promoted on the basis that it will improve tourism and bring the
financial benefits that are associated with increased tourist activity.
While casino gambling should only be available to non-Guyanese, the draft
bill appears to leave the door open for our nationals as well. As a Guyanese
who has chosen to remain in the country of my birth, I too dream of a Guyana
which is doing well economically and whose citizens enjoy the benefits of a
strong and vibrant economy. However, it is my firm belief that the moral and
spiritual health of the nation should not be sacrificed for increased
national income. The moral health and well-being of any society are things
for which no amount of money can ever compensate. The ills of casino
gambling are well-known and have long been recognized. It was Blackstone who
many years ago said that gambling promotes public idleness, theft and
debauchery, often leading to the sudden ruin and desolation of ancient and
opulent families.
Another writer, Paterson, alluded to the fact that gambling produces social
slackers. He noted that a wagerer often becomes a social parasite. Idleness,
referred to earlier leads to "vice and the impoverishment of the loser
entails misery and into consequence crime". Guyana cannot afford to make the
mistake that other countries have made. There is already too much vice and
crime - much more than our small population can afford. Our children,
youths, senior citizens and the society as a whole have endured enough. I
would like to urge our Parliamentarians to give the children of this
beautiful and blessed land the same benefits they enjoyed during their
childhood: the opportunity to live in a society known for its natural beauty
and not the multiple ills of casino gambling.