MPs voted yesterday to outlaw gaming machines by July 1, 2004, rejecting an Opposition amendment to have them scrapped by January 1 next year.

Premier Jennifer Smith said she believed Government had struck the right balance in being fair to the operators who had invested in the machines, but also outlawing them because they are "not part of Bermuda's cultural heritage''.

Moving the Prohibition of Gaming Machines Act, she said for every one person addicted to the machines, another 12 were affected.

She said Government was cutting back an expectation operators who imported the machines had of a ten year life span to five years. However, the bill gives Government flexibility to introduce the ban before June 31, 2004, if circumstances are deemed right.

But the United Bermuda Party said the July, 2004 cut off date seemed to have been arbitrarily plucked out of the air, with no economic argument about why operators needed this time to recoup their investment.

The UBP moved an amendment to outlaw the machines by January 1, saying if it was agreed they were "pernicious'', there was no excuse for giving them another three year lifespan.

Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb hit back, accusing the Opposition of "playing political games'' by picking an equally arbitrary date. And she challenged them to move for immediate abolition if they were so against the machines. Ms Smith told the House of Assembly: "Determining a fair cut off date was not an easy task'' because Government had to balance the needs of operators to recoup investments and for sports clubs to find an alternative source of income.

"We make no apology for being fair and equitable by considering all the parties' activities and taking a line down the middle,'' she said.

"Whether operators suffered a loss or not is not the point, we are cutting the time they can have the machines.

"Is the Opposition against gaming machines or not? I'm not clear. The bill strives to make the right balance between taking us from where we are to where we want to be.

"Government has taken a flexible approach giving it power to have an earlier cut-off date, should circumstances dictate. That's a practical response.'' Opposition Leader Pamela Gordon said: "I am not aware of many operators who lost money...I certainly hope it can be explained further when it goes to committee.'' She said it was wrong for Government to claim operators should recoup their investment because they "they didn't have any in the first place. We put the cart before the horse from the very beginning.

"If the Government was so serious, why not make a decision to do it now? There can't be that significant a concern if they are going to be given another three years.'' Gambling machines outlawed by 2004 Shadow Legislative Affairs Minister John Barritt said the machines were "pernicious'' and it was "shameful'' that Government was giving them an extra shelf life without regulating them.

He said the operators had a carte blanche to calibrate the machines to ensure how much money was paid out, so operators ripped off the public and preyed on them.

"The sunset clause is unacceptable,'' he said. "If this Government thinks three years is acceptable (with) the damage (it causes), I cannot understand why they don't licence them, tax them and regulate them.

"Why should they be given a carte blanche to calibrate these pernicious machines. Not to do so is criminal and unforgivable. Shame.'' The Premier called for a name vote on the UBP's amendment to abolish the machines by January 1 next year, which Government won by 16-9.