Numbers boss lawyer Wayne Munroe is concerned that the government’s attempt to fight an injunction keeping web shops open could cause an extensive delay in the outcome of the case. In response to a conservatory order that has allowed web shops to continue operating for the month since Bahamians voted no to legalising numbers, the government plans to file an application on March 13 to lift the injunction, Attorney General Allyson Maynard Gibson confirmed over the weekend.
But Mr Munroe, who represents Percy’s Web Cafe, Island Luck, FML Group of Companies Ltd, Chances Internet Services, What Fall and Asue Draw, said the move will only draw out the process. The Tribune understands that to date, no formal notice of the government’s plans has been issued to the web shops.
#Mr Munroe told The Tribune that at this point, all his clients care about is “getting to the main dance as soon as possible”. “Personally,” he said, “I would have thought that they would have taken other avenues to advance litigation and be more efficient. But it is their right to use whichever means they see fit.
#“I was working on a statement of claim, but now that they have plans to file an application it would mean that my legal team would have to set that aside for maybe a week to 10 days or more to look at what they are putting forth.
“In litigation, whenever the focus is not on the matter at hand and what is important, there is a huge risk that a case can become bogged down in interlocutory things. I have seen cases where that has happened and years later there is still no resolve.”
#The legal battle ensued just days after the January 28 referendum, which sought to legalise and tax web shop gambling and a national lottery, was rejected by the electorate. Apart from a low voter turnout, many Bahamians complained that they were not well informed of the implications of a yes vote.
#The following day, on January 29, Prime Minister Perry Christie ordered that all web shops cease their operations. He had said in the lead up to referendum day that his administration would follow the law after voters had their say. However, the numbers bosses took swift legal action, resulting in an order that they can remain open until the outcome in the case.
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