Former Bahamas Bar Association President Wayne Munroe has warned that so-called discrepancies in provisions for online gaming in the current Gaming Bill and Regulations were a "major impediment" to the web shop industry, and could drive Bahamian web shop owners to other jurisdictions.
Munroe, who represents a group of web shops owners, told Guardian Business that the current regulations could cause Bahamian web shop owners to register for online gaming licenses in foreign jurisdictions, including Malta and Belize.
"The reality is (that) a Bahamian web shop owner can do something very simple; get a gaming license in any other country with interactive gaming, and market yourself to the world in those jurisdiction.
"The only difference is that the Bahamian public gets no benefit from your activity and the revenue generated. Those jurisdictions will benefit and that's the only sad part," stated Munroe, noting that casinos were subjected to a noticeably lower tax rate than web shops.
Under the 2014 Gaming Bill and Regulations, web shops will be taxed 11 percent of taxable revenue, while casinos are taxed 5 percent.
Munroe added that the recent regulations heavily favored the casino sector by prohibiting web shops from participating in new gaming markets, specifically through proxy gaming, which employs stand-ins to place bets.
"That's one of the major impediments that is currently in the way of web shops," said Munroe.
Market research firm H2 Gambling Capital reported that online gambling gross winning topped $32.7 billion in 2013, and were expected to reach $39 billion in 2015.
"What they've added substantially is the online and interactive gaming component, and the provisions for [casinos] are broader than for web shops. In that regard casinos get a better interactive gaming product than the web shops," he said.
Despite these complaints, Munroe acknowledged that the current regulations went further than any previous legislation, stating: "[The gaming bill] did not go as far as we would like it to, but the government did something, more than anyone else has done to date."

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