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NASSAU, Bahamas -- Prime Minister Perry Christie on Tuesday night ordered all web shop operators in The Bahamas to shut down their gaming operations immediately or face arrest and prosecution.

However, on Wednesday, Senior Supreme Court Justice Jon Isaacs granted an injunction that will keep web shops from shutting down.

As many as 3,000 people reportedly work in the industry. Some web shops were closed on Wednesday morning while the matter was before the courts but many were open.

The prime minister said on Tuesday that web shop customers also risked arrest and prosecution if found gambling.

His statement came a day after voters rejected a referendum which asked people if they supported the regulation and taxation of web shops and the creation of a national lottery.

Most voters said no to both questions.

“In keeping with my government’s commitment to abide by the will of the electorate as expressed on Monday’s referendum, it has now become necessary to effect the closure of all web-shop gaming operations in The Bahamas,” Christie said in a statement.

“Accordingly, all offending web shop owners and operators are placed on notice that all their gaming operations, including all online gaming and the numbers games, must cease with immediate effect. Failure to do so will leave all such web shop owners, operators and web shop gaming patrons exposed to arrest and criminal prosecution without further notice or warning.”

Christie said web shops could stay open as long as they did not facilitate illegal gambling.

“While web shop owners and operators must cease and desist from gaming operations immediately, they are not required to close the door on their employees and those persons with whom they have lawful commercial relationships,” he said.

Republished with permission of the Nassau Guardian

“This includes relationships with landlords throughout the country, as well as relationships with utility and service companies, suppliers of goods, and other third-party creditors.”

Christie said he hoped web shop owners would abide by his warning to eliminate the need for police to have to arrest and prosecute offenders.

On Wednesday, attorney Wayne Munroe, representing a group of web shop bosses, told The Nassau Guardian that the injunction “holds the status quo with regard the applicants before Justice Isaacs until the matter comes before the judge who will hear it”.

He said the issues that will be tried are whether what the numbers bosses do is caught by the Lotteries and Gaming Act and whether that Act is constitutional.

Munroe said the matter is being forwarded to Chief Justice Sir Michael Barnett who will either assign it to another judge or hear it himself.

Republished with permission of the Nassau Guardian

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