New legislation to allow for the establishment of casinos in Bermuda for the first time has been unveiled.

The 118-page Casino Gaming Act 2014 was tabled in the House of Assembly by Shawn Crockwell, the Minister of Tourism.

The new act makes provision for the creation of a Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission that will be made up of five members, including a chairman who has to be a barrister with more than five years’ experience.

The Commission will be tasked with regulating the industry and ensuring that there are just three casino licences in force at any time.

According to the tabled legislation a casino licence will remain in force for five years and cannot be transferred.

The Casino Gaming Act sets out the licencing regime for casinos and provides that establishments operating without a licence can be fined up to $10,000.

The new legislation also lays down how casinos should operate and makes provision for the establishment of a casino tax.

It prohibits ATM machines from being set up in casinos and provides that anyone found with casino chips outside the establishment can be fined up to $10,000 or jailed for up to two years.

The proposed Act would also restrict minors from entering a casino and establish a “Problem Gaming Council” that could prevent members of the public from entering a casino through exclusion orders.

Under the legislation the Commission has the power to make an exclusion order if there is “reasonable apprehension that the person may suffer harm, or may cause serious harm to family members because of problem gambling”.