The Bahamas Lottery – What You Need to Know

About the Lottery Before You Dream of Becoming a Millionaire!

According to the Bahamian Gambling Referendum, 2013, gambling in the Bahamas is currently illegal. Yeah, you heard that right. On the 28th of January 2013, a petition was proposed in the Bahamas to legalize webshops and to establish a national Bahamas lottery, but unfortunately, both these proposals were rejected by voters. Despite that, there are some illegal gambling establishments in the Bahamas known as “Webshops” that allow betting on American lottery numbers. According to Prime Minister Perry Christie, legalizing and regulating web shops would benefit the Bahamas as it could raise approximately $20 million a year in tax revenues, but religious groups came forward to vote against the legalization.

What’s funny is that I don’t really understand whether not legalizing the Bahamas lottery is a stand for Bahamian morals or an unfortunate missed opportunity. People voted a big ‘NO’ when it came to legalizing web houses and establishing a national lottery, which clearly indicated that gambling, according to many ‘religious’ people, isn’t an acceptable social trait in the economy. Other countries that have legal lotteries have so far benefitted from gambling i.e. the New Jersey Lottery – the fourth largest revenue producer – contributed over $1 billion to the State to help fund education and institutions. What’s not great about the Bahamas lottery?

What’s surprising is that gambling was a part of a constituent of Bahamian hotels and casinos for several years, but now it is forbidden. So the question that arises now is why casino gambling wasn’t part of the Gambling Referendum. The referendum only mentioned webshops and the national lottery, not the casinos. Why is that? Isn’t that gambling too? In simple terms, the current legislature situation is like this: you inviting someone to use the guest bathroom, which you have no access to – peculiar isn’t it? This is exactly what happened during the voting process – religious groups voted NO to something they aren’t even interested in doing.

The biggest concern here is whether the Bahamas government missed out on a lucrative opportunity. It could be that the government didn’t really mention the benefits of the national Bahamas lottery, maybe if people knew that their lives would have been better because the economy would rise, they wouldn’t have voted against the proposal. Sure the Prime Minister stated what could have been an opportunity, but was that mentioned before the poll went live? Did they mention how the money would be collected, taxed, and used to benefit the Bahamian citizens? If you know how you would benefit, you would think twice before rejecting a profitable proposal, wouldn’t you? So personally speaking, I think the government did miss out on a very, very lucrative opportunity.

The proceeds would have been used to finance education, social outreach programs, and other economic ventures in order to strengthen the Bahamas as a country in the eyes of other countries and states. So a group of religious people came forth to vote against the proposal, I think that the government should have explained to them why national lotteries and webshops would be a great idea instead. Instead of agreeing, they should have given them a list of benefits like health care and education – telling them that the health of people and the quality of life they live is of utmost importance. But did that happen, nope? The proceeds from the Bahamas lottery would have definitely helped the Bahamas government, which is already struggling with its outdated import-based taxation and revenue scheme.

The proceeds would have helped fund important programs like the Urban Renewal 2.0, crime reduction, and overall economic prosperity. Is that not part of a government’s role? Is it not the right of people to live a life above the line of poverty? In 2013, about 43,000 people were living below the line of poverty in the Bahamas – they had to suffice with anything because they were living with less than $12 a day. Wouldn’t the Bahamas lottery have benefited over 13% of the entire population living below the line of poverty? You bet it would have. Apart from that, it has been noted that the government is struggling very hard to make ends meet, and for that, it had cut down budgets and even failed to support its athletes to participate in major international tournaments.

Why Bahamas Lottery Is a Taboo

According to religious groups, gambling is a taboo – an activity that has a negative social effect promotes unhealthy behavior and is a tool to influence the weak-minded. What about smoking and drinking? In 2012 it was reported that 288 cigarettes were consumed per year per person! When it comes to alcohol, an adult in the Bahamas consumes 7.05 liters of ethyl alcohol per year (that’s 70 bottles assuming that each liter has 10% alcohol). Doesn’t smoking and drinking promote exactly the same thing then? Does it benefit the state? Does it help fund anything? Apart from ruining your wallet and your body, it does nothing. So can the Bahamas Lottery be compared to this?

Why Bahamas Lottery Is the Next Best Thing

Bahamas lottery should have been legalized for the welfare of the citizens. Imagine a country completely crime-free where children get the best education, where hospitals have reputed recognition, where the cost of living and the quality of life is superb. Who wouldn’t want that? Now hoping that the Bahamas lottery proposal will be tabled in the near future, here are some things that need to be mentioned in a public poll so that people make wise decisions:

• Do you want to see your children getting the best education?
• Do you want to live a quality life?
• Do you want a reasonable cost of living?
• Do you want to live in a country free from crime?
• Do you want to be able to enjoy better health care services?
• Do you want to see a rise in the country’s economic situation?
• Do you want to be able to proudly represent your country in major international events?
• Would you help the government legalize Bahamas gambling to support the above?

If that’s how you do it, I doubt people will say no, because this is for their welfare, for the country’s welfare, and well, for the avid lottery player’s welfare too! What do you think? Did I miss a bullet?