ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell says he is concerned about the level of gambling or games of chance in Grenada and wants to see a holistic approach adopted, with focus not only on the revenue generated but also on the impact on those vulnerable to the habit.
“I do have significant concerns about the level of domestic gambling that is going on in Grenada, and it is something that has to be addressed holistically. You see, values matter, and if people are left to think the only way in which they can exit the financial challenges that they have is through gambling, then you know we are guaranteeing to them that they will never come out of it,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell said that while he respects individuals’ rights to choose how they live their lives, he believes that, as a society, there is a need for some consensus on what values are and their merits and demerits.
“Gambling is a demerit, and gambling addiction, if one suffers from it, could be highly destructive,” said Prime Minister Mitchell, who made it clear that he was not referring to the one-time bingo or other games of chance but to those described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as highly addictive.
“Fortunately for us, it is people who are on limited financial means who find themselves gambling, and if they are to find themselves addicted, then we have an issue,” he said while pointing out that there are people who gamble between 12 and 14 hours daily.
“It’s the accessible behaviour and patterns where they don’t care about their children, they leave the children at home, and they go gambling, they spend hours in the gambling area without realising that 12 hours have passed, 14 hours have passed.
“We have to take a whole of society approach to decide what are the best avenues or options when maximising revenues that come from gambling while at the same time protecting the persons who are most vulnerable from the activities of gambling,” he said.
Besides private companies offering promotional games of chance, the biggest gambling outfit is the state-operated Grenada National Lotteries Authority, which is the leading provider of all lottery games and products in Grenada.
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