Bermudan senate OKs law to ban MPs from Casino Gaming Commission

The new amendments clarify that members of Bermuda’s parliament cannot sit on the territory’s gaming regulator.

Bermuda.- The Senate in the British overseas territory of Bermuda has given its approval to legal amendments that aim to ensure that members of parliament will not be able to sit on the islands’ Casino Gaming Commission.

The amendments are the result of Bermuda’s discussions with banks about the processing of gaming transactions as it prepares to open its first resort casino, the St. Regis Bermuda Resort. The casino is still slated to open this year.

Marcus Jones, a senator with the One Bermuda Alliance Party, said the new amendments brought Bermuda in line with international practices and that the Senate decision gave “hope and encouragement” for a future casino gaming industry in Bermuda.

He said: “Not only must the commission not have a conflict of interest but it must also not have an appearance of a conflict of interest.”

Owen Darrell, the junior minister for the cabinet office, said that it was already implied in previous legislation that MPs could not be members of the casino regulator, but the new amendments would remove any possibility of doubt.

He said the Casino Gaming Commission had worked with “efficiency and purpose” to prepare the way for the islands’ future casino resort.