Cayman Islands seek new gambling provisions

A bill aiming to increase penalties for illegal gambling will be discussed by the government.

Cayman Islands.- The Cayman Islands’ government has published the Gambling Amendment Bill, 2018, which is set to be up for debate at the next Meeting of the Legislative Assembly. The proposed legislation seeks to increase the penalties for engaging in acts of illegal gambling.

The government said on its website that the purpose of the bill is to make penalties more of a deterrent than they are now, with stiffer punishment proposed for those perpetrating illegal gambling than for individual participants.

“While illegal gambling has been a chronic problem in the Cayman Islands, the penalties have not undergone a revision since the first enactment of the Gambling Law in 1964. As such, in today’s climate, they do not properly reflect the gravity of this type of illegal activity,” said the government.

The new bill establishes that fines for use and ownership of premises for gambling, publication of lottery numbers and the use of money from gambling activities would increase from €350 to more than €8k, while maximum prison sentence would increase from one to three years.