Dear Editor,

I have read the document on Casino gaming put out by the Roman Catholic Church.

The evidence is clear. Casino gambling is not a win for Guyana given the present abilities of the government structures in the country. Even outside the social and moral issues raised in the document the fact is the state in Guyana does not have the capacity to effectively monitor and control the casino gaming industry if introduced to Guyana. I lived in a US state for 5 years where there was limited casino gaming and I saw for myself the impact of casino gambling. It probably was a net positive contributor to that state economy.

There were negative consequences but that state had a more effective social support system than Guyana, more police re-sources and ultimately the backing of US Federal agencies such as the FBI to help in controlling the criminal aspects related to the casino gaming industry.

As someone who has studied the tourism industry I can confidently say that to argue that casino gambling can have a major impact on Guyana’s tourism industry is wishful thinking. There are several important infrastructural improvements needed in Guyana before we can begin to seriously consider the incremental pull effects in terms of visitor numbers and revenues that casino gaming may induce.

In summary much more public debate is needed on this issue in Guyana, informed by a comprehensive economic and social impact study.

Yours faithfully,

(name and address supplied)