The Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission remains hard at work creating gaming regulations, according to executive director Richard Schuetz.

However, Mr Schuetz said developing the regulations is not as simple as copying the model used in Singapore.

“The act was basically lifted from Singapore, but Singapore has a $50 billion government budget,” Mr Schuetz said. “They have 6 million people, 14 million tourists and they have two casinos.

“There are things that would be onerous to businesses, and in Singapore the operators may say that’s okay because those two casinos do $6 billion in revenue. They can hire those extra people. If I say you’re making $40 million, you will say things need to be more efficient.

“It’s hard to take a model that was accepted in another jurisdiction with fundamentally different conditions. You might say if it worked for Singapore it will work here, but it’s not that easy.

“We are going as fast as we can. We are trying to make it smarter, we are trying to make in more efficient and maintain the integrity of it all, and I think we are doing some real good things.”

His comments come after the Casino Gaming (Designated Sites) Regulations 2015, which details how potential casino sites are to be selected, were approved by the House of Assembly.

Under the regulations, the commission is tasked with considering any applications and making recommendations to the minister. The minister “may” then decide if an order should be made, but he is not required to give reasons for his decision.

Mr Schuetz said the use of the word “may” comes from the originating legislation, adding that there are cases where it would be appropriate not to release reasons for a decision.

“Some people will have lawsuits sealed or settlements sealed, and the attitude for a regulatory authority is you don’t have to show us that, but we don’t have to process your application,” he said. “You come to us, you have to bare it all to be able to play. We don’t want to then use that in any way that is discoverable to embarrass that person.

“Then there is information we may get from a source. If we get information from a police agency and release it, we may blow an ongoing investigation. It’s for reasons like that we may try to keep things shielded. We are not trying to disguise things from the public.”

Asked about the non-refundable $50,000 fee for those seeking to have a site designated, Mr Schuetz said the fee is primarily to cover the costs of processing and investigating the applications,

“It’s a reasonable attempt to account for the costs associated with looking at the details,” he said. “I doubt you will find a fee in any jurisdiction less than that. It helps us pay the bills around here. It does it in a way that is not going to be an administrative nightmare, and it has the added benefit of making sure that someone is serious.”

The regulations note that the granting of a designated site order does not guarantee a casino licence, which must be sought through a separate application.