Since the government is thinking about legalizing gambling;

- Should they close the competition, i.e. Percy's, FML, etc. and just constitute one system, aka national lottery? (This would make purchasing outside lotteries illegal still.)

or

- Should the national lottery be an additional game of chance, along with the US lotteries, i.e. 3-ball, fantasy-five, etc.?

- If allowed to remain open, would the government be able to effectively tax the webshops on earnings/proceeds? (I suggest a 'sales tax' on the contributions.)

- Does anyone know how the funds are being collected and transmitted now? i.e. if I play fantasy-five and my number falls, how does Percy claim those numbers in the US and get that money here to me in the Bahamas?

And finally;

- Would there be a corresponding tax on proceeds for the winners? Since there's no income/capital gain tax currently in the Bahamas; would this be the beginning of an 'income' tax?

(I know there must be a million threads about this topic, but I wanted these few technical questions to be addressed, and I'm too lazy to read those other threads.) :D

Thanks in advance.

In the spirit of enterprise, do not wipe out the shops to form one lottery, those houses do employ people and create business not just for them but surrounding businesses. Who would not want to have their business right in the way of a person who has just won big?

I think if we can collect departure tax well then we sure could collect tax on bets. I think it should be regulated in such that people can use credit and debit cards to do bets so the taxes can be electronically collected also. If i am placing a $10 bet, and the tax is 5%, the tax is only 25 cents. Maybe we would want to do a flat tax so as not to scare off betters, and not have people worry about paying more tax with the risk. The regulation needs to be done with active participation of all the number house franchises.

I don't know how they the money is transmitted. Really I don't know if they even contact those US games. I used to imagine that these games are conducted with the daily numbers as a platform, and that the money really comes from the pool of bets.

There probably can be a tax on the gains from games of chance. How I just worded that was broad and vague, and that could even mean the tax on the value of an item won in a raffle or game of bingo, but I mean the number business strictly. I wonder if we could even do this with the casinoes. I suspect if we bring that tax to the nunber guys, they will reject it and call for the casinoes to recieve such a tax.

Look. If the PM, and the FNM, do not have a clue, quit wasting our time posturing on such drivel. Gambling is not at the core of our concerns.

Politicians do this all the time- they "leak", advertently or apparently inadvertently, their feelings on a position and then let the public, mull over what may be the scenario's- affecting policy, without having to actually do anything, unless the public moves in a position they prefer.

The thing with this type of political gamesmanship, is that when they send things out in the air like this, it takes the wrong spin and creates more confusion- pitting more people against each other and, in the same time, pitting their own supporters against each other on the issues that are controversial.

Some things are just "right". You don't have to affect policy, by toying with the publics psyche. Either you have a clue, or you don't.

In the spirit of enterprise, do not wipe out the shops to form one lottery, those houses do employ people and create business not just for them but surrounding businesses.

So do the Drug Dealers, Gun Runners, Whore Houses, And Spammers! :hammer:

Look. If the PM, and the FNM, do not have a clue, quit wasting our time posturing on such drivel. Gambling is not at the core of our concerns.
Politicians do this all the time- they "leak", advertently or apparently inadvertently, their feelings on a position and then let the public, mull over what may be the scenario's- affecting policy, without having to actually do anything, unless the public moves in a position they prefer.
The thing with this type of political gamesmanship, is that when they send things out in the air like this, it takes the wrong spin and creates more confusion- pitting more people against each other and, in the same time, pitting their own supporters against each other on the issues that are controversial.
Some things are just "right". You don't have to affect policy, by toying with the publics psyche. Either you have a clue, or you don't.

ALIENWARE!! :hammer::hammer:

So do the Drug Dealers, Gun Runners, Whore Houses, And Spammers! :hammer:

True, but they we can probably rank the numbers house as the least lethal.

True, but they we can probably rank the numbers house as the least lethal.
True dat :)
(except for the liquor stores that also sell numbers)

Who named this thread? Are u the owner a dat place on Carmichael Rd.? Same name, same topic, werry fancy setup... huh? Answer da questions....:sparky:

Oh my goodness! I just want to say that I nearly DIED when I saw the sign on Wulff Road. EVERYBODY WINS! ...With the flowers at the top! HAHAHA! I loved it. I took a picture of it to take with me and giggle at when I go back to school. No one is even trying to HIDE their business, man.

I think they should legalize gambling. Just let it be! It will be any way... legal, or illegal. Let them remain open, not one national lottery. They should be allowed to continue to run their little-big businesses. Doesn't one of them already have their own ball? They do their own numbers like three times a day or something like that.

Hmmm... Then again, if the individual number houses remain open, it would be difficult for the government to get revenue (collect taxes). The only way to make sure they get their "fair" share is to have one big lottery, huh?

I have to think about this some more...