Archive for August 2nd, 2010
G-tech reveals illegal games
(CNS): Local law enforcement’s reluctance to police the illegal gaming in the Cayman Islands has been highlighted by the ease with which a consultant firm has penetrated the local numbers game. G-Tech Corporation, a specialist international gaming firm which came to the Cayman Islands this year for a short visit, submitted a proposal to government in July for a legal lottery, demonstrating that its executives had no problem gaining access to the illegal game here. G-Tech suggests that the Cayman people will have a high propensity to play a national lottery because of the “notable and prominent presence of the unregulated lottery”, and that the local population was playing regularly.
The consultants, who were in the jurisdiction for a number of short visits to assess Cayman’s current gambling habits and put together a proposal, had no trouble finding players and providers of the illegal lottery. The research was to inform their report for the Cayman Islands government which included a proposal for G-Tech to run the lottery here should a referendum come out in favour of legalisation.
Speaking at last week’s gambling forum, held at the UCCI and organised by Generation NOW, local activist Billy Adam, who voiced his opposition to legalising gaming, brought a copy of the report and pointed out that G-Tech had been here for a very short period and was easily able to gain access to the illegal market, illustrating how law enforcement is turning a blind eye. He noted, too, how the G-Tech report had also highlighted the point that many service clubs and NGOs were breaking the gaming laws with raffles and prize draws.
“The only existing gaming legislation in the jurisdiction is the outdated Gambling Law of the Cayman Islands, dating back to 1967 and revised in 1996,” the authors of the G-Tech report say. “Ironically, many things that happen openly today in the Cayman Islands (club Raffles and fundraisers) are actually illegal under that existing statute, although there is no apparent enforcement effort on the part of the authorities, nor any recognition of the illegality on the part of the populace.”
The report also pointed out that Caymanians purchasing Florida Lottery tickets and bringing those tickets back to Cayman were also committing an offence under the existing law. And during the forum Adam noted that the two local telecommunication firms were also falling foul of the gaming laws with their prize texts and other games, which he said were also illegal forms of gambling.
Having gained access to the local illegal games, G-Tech sets out the parameters of the unregulated and illegal lotteries played every week in Cayman. “Although such forms of gaming are unregulated, this does not diminish or negate the fact that the populace is highly familiar with and readily participates in lottery type game,” the report revealed.
“During our visits to Grand Cayman, we met with individuals that were selling and wagering the unregulated games. They explained to us that there are a ‘good number’ of people that actually sell the games and that individual wagers on these games can easily be as high as KYD300 per player.”
The report reveals that those wagering on games typically purchase their tickets from sellers they are familiar with and trust.
“The sellers sell the tickets either via telephone or at their house/store/bar, etc … There are basically two types of games currently being played in the Cayman Islands – Jamaica’s 1 of 36 game and, the Honduras and Belize 1 of 100 games.” The Jamaican game is drawn from the game operated by G-Tech in Jamaica and offers draws three times per day, six days per week in the Cayman Islands, the consultants said.
“As there are an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Jamaicans in the Cayman Islands, this game is extremely popular among this group. We could not get an exact prize payout for the game, but it seems to have the same payout as the regulated game in Jamaica; 26 times the wager,” the report states.
The 1 of 100 game is the numbers game 00 to 99 played in Honduras and Belize. The games are offered on a daily basis and drawn seven days per week. It is sold in pieces/fractions in the Cayman Islands. Players are able to buy 3 pieces of this game for CI$1, 16 pieces for CI$5, 50 for CI$15 and 315 pieces for CI$100 315 pieces. The payout is between 65% and 66% of sales.
“Players’ wagers/numbers are written on a receipt by the seller,” G-Tech revealed. “The seller will keep the original receipt and a copy will be given to the player. The receipt will have the date, number of pieces/fractions and the amount played. If a player wins, he/she will claim his prize from the seller (the person that he/she bought the ticket from).”
The consultants were able to purchase a ticket during their visits and reproduced it the report.
“The sellers are responsible for prize payments,” the report goes on to say. “During the times when a seller feels that he/she is facing a potential large liability, they are able to pass their risk over to individuals (‘un-official insurers’) that buy the risk from the seller for a commission. Therefore, ifa number with a high liability hits, the ‘insurer’ will take the risk for the prize payout liability.”
The consultants said they also found that there are already individuals in the islands that cover or insure such risks.
While here, G-Tech also found that Power-Ball and Florida Lotto games are also informally or illegally sold in the Cayman Islands, and although they did not meet any sellers while they were here, they were told by several people that those games are regularly sold in the islands and people travelling to or through Florida very commonly purchase tickets for those games specifically for resale in the Cayman Islands.
During their time here assessing the potential market G-Tech concluded that a lot of Caymanians would play because of a high GDP and evidence of a lot of illegal playing, and estimated the total sales would be in the range of US$ $9 – $11 million on an annual basis.
“This estimate is based upon our preliminary observations and the market research performed to date in the Cayman Islands and subject to additional focus group research yet to be performed. Assuming the above estimate of annual sales of USD $9 – $11 Million, the Government would receive funds in the range of USD $1.2 – $1.4 Million from the lottery on an annual basis once fully operational,” the report reveals, which is less than a ¼ percent of the country’s revenue needs.
The consultants also recommend that authorities separate the question of a national lottery from casinos as the two are viewed very differently, and while G-Tech is involved in both, the firm says communities often see a lottery as less problematic.“ Relative to lottery, casino gaming is viewed quite differently and in general less favourably by the public in many places,” the firm stated in the proposal.
“We believe that the Government of the Cayman Islands would be wise not to combine the two forms … to the populace or in any referendum … Separate referendums would be advised so as not to confuse the issue in the minds of voters and not to unintentionally misread or influence the public’s opinion of one form of gaming via the perception of the other.”
The consultants said they believed that Cayman could support around 60 terminals for a lotto game to begin with but the firm would be able to bring in a range of other games and scratch cards over a three year period.
Cayman kayak loses owner, floats to Key Largo
(Miami Herald): It began as a mystery. Where was the owner of the expensive, blue-and-white racing kayak that a boat captain found Tuesday drifting 3 ½ miles off Key Largo with no one aboard? The US Coast Guard searched by air and sea, but found no one in distress. Next they turned detectives and searched the Internet, which led to a clue from a man in Africa and ultimately to the owner — alive and well about 600 miles away in the Cayman Islands. “This is certainly a crazy, crazy story — just bananas front to back,” Sam Dawson, owner of the kayak, said by phone Friday from the Cayman Islands, where he lives. `