Vexed Bermoothes

The Premier was filling space on late night BBC World radio broadcasts tonight, sounding tired and very “off-message”.

Pondering Bermuda’s economic uncertainties in the face of declining international business and tourism revenues, the announcer Roger Hearing asked the Premier what Bermuda intended to do.  His answer:

“We haven’t been able to come up with another pillar for our economy.”

The Premier then grabbed a straw and firmly announced that Bermuda was looking at developing gaming as a new industry, including internet gambling.

Now, that’s a new twist to the story, as it extends the scope of previous announcements that Bermuda was considering allowing hotel casinos or starting a national lottery.

I think that messing with internet gambling would be profoundly misguided for Bermuda.

I am sure that a number of Bermuda executives fell off their seats, as a move towards internet gambling could taint Bermuda’s reputation as a serious business jurisdiction.

Moreover, the US is taking a hard line on offshore jurisdictions that offer online gambling to Americans, to the extent of arresting executives of foreign companies engaged in the business and shutting down financial and other channels to countries that host their operations.  Very treacherous ground to tread on.

The announcer moved on to ask if Bermuda might come a-begging to the UK for financial help, or if Bermuda might find itself embroiled in the international drugs trade.  As I said, the interview was way w-a-y “off message”.

I guess you can add the BBC to the vast media conspiracy of the Combined Opposition.