the two people who admitted conducting a pyramid scheme in their home.

But the landmark case goes to show how confused Bermuda's lottery and gaming laws have become.

The couple who brought the Ujamma scheme to Bermuda apparently did everything they could to ensure the scheme was legal, including taking legal advice and checking with Government authorities to ensure it was permissible.

But the fact remains that the scheme was not only illegal, but dangerous, because, like chain letters or Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes are based on gullibility -- the promise to investors that they can get something for nothing.

And unfortunately, the people who end up suffering are the ones who can least afford it; people who are already rich are the least susceptible to get rich quick schemes. There are no prizes for guessing who the most susceptible people are.

Pyramid schemes operate on the basis that the person who puts money in must then find more people to invest in order to get their own money back.

The problem with the scheme is that people enter the scheme unaware that they may not get their money back. Instead they are promised the earth.

Gambling is different in that there is always an element of luck involved. But that does not make it right.

The people who play the slot machines now popping up all over the Island are often the people who can least afford to lose -- as they inevitably will. The only people who will win in the end are the operators of the machines.

Like pyramid schemes, there is nothing of substance behind gambling. You simply put your money in and hope for the best. It may be fun -- at least before your losses mount up -- but it gives nothing to society in the end.

For decades now, Bermuda has made it clear that it is opposed to year-round gambling. Thus we have no casinos and no lotteries -- another form of gambling, albeit one where the public benefits to some extent.

Now, we have a situation where people can gamble on Front Street, but the cruise ships on the other side of the street must shut down their casinos because they are in Bermuda territorial waters. This makes no sense.

Government made a clear statement when it prosecuted the Ujamma scheme. Now it must make another by stating clearly what forms, if any, of gambling are permissible and which are not.

COURT REPORTING EDT Court reporting Last week we ran an editorial which criticised the delays in identifying and putting in place a court stenography system.

Now the Government has announced that tenders for the system will be going out this week for recording systems which should be in place by the end of the year.

Government deserves credit for this -- although it highlights the need for better commmunication between Ministries. When this newspaper contacted Legislative Affairs Minister Lois Browne Evans, who is the first political Attorney General, she seemed to know nothing about it. In the meantime, the Ministry of Development and Opportunity seems to have the whole scheme -- and its financing -- going full speed ahead.