Government was yesterday forced to defer a Bill to permit gambling on cruise ships in dock after vocal objections from Opposition MPs and its own Party members.

Premier Ewart Brown allowed a vote of conscience on the Prohibition of Gaming Machines Amendment Act 2009, but left the Bill in the Committee stage after cross-Party objection.

Dr. Brown said the Bill was needed because Bermuda was losing its competitive advantage in attracting cruise ships, particularly the smaller premium ships capable of docking in Hamilton and St. George's.

Problems included high operating costs and restrictions about on board revenue potential. Bermuda and Alaska used to be the primary summer cruise destinations for North America, said Dr. Brown. Now cruises to New England and Canada were providing competition.

And since 2006 cruises to Europe mainly the Baltic and Mediterranean were also taking off.

Bermuda remained one of the few destinations where people came for one night or more because it was not near any other islands, said the Premier who explained that while here cruises are not allowed to open casinos, shops or provide full entertainment.

On a seven-day cruise from the East coast it meant that the ship can only make money from those outlets on the three nights that the ship is at sea.

"Cruise ships get up to 35 percent of their profits from on-board revenue sources," said Dr. Brown.

The combined effect of increased competition and restrictions on on board revenue has made Bermuda cruise less profitable compared to Europe said Dr. Brown.

But talks with cruise lines and indications concessions would be made by Government had let to Holland America and Celebrity Cruises coming in 2010.

Those concessions would mean the casinos can open from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. while in port here, while retail outlets can be open for the exclusive sale of cruise line branded merchandise to passengers.

Dr. Brown said in return Bermuda will try to get benefits from cruise lines including a commitment of spending six-figure sums on marketing Bermuda, sponsorship of an annual tourism related scholarship, participation in annual job fairs to promote on board jobs for Bermudians, access to market Bermuda directly to passengers including on board seminars, the sale of public transport passes on the ship to encourage travel around Bermuda.

No residents or visitors to the ship will be allowed to use the casinos.

But the Bill got a savaging from Government backbencher Wayne Perinchief who said it was one more disincentive for passengers to get off the ship and spend money in port.

Mr. Perinchief, who drives taxis, said Hamilton was already a ghost town at night and tourists were staying at home at night.

"The cliché is that Bermuda appeals to the newly wed and the nearly dead."

He said: "Ninety-five percent of tourists don't leave the ship, now what chance have we of getting them off the ship for the next three years with gaming on board?"

He regretted his party had abolished gaming machines in Bermuda which he said had been a good revenue stream for black entrepreneurs as the machines were virtually in every bar and a great money-spinner.

Now that money was flowing abroad said Mr. Perinchief who said it was not a moral issue particularly as Bermuda had online betting, off track betting, crown and anchor and bingo while locals flocked abroad to gamble. "Everywhere you find gaming you will find a Bermudian gaming."

Instead of abolishing the machines Government should have taxed them and made sure they stayed where they were in small establishments rather than opening the door to large casinos.

While he conceded some people let their gambling get out of hand if it was properly regulated and taxed the state would have some money to deal with the fall out.

Mr. Perinchief also said it was wrong to specify certain cruise lines in the act Norwegian Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International as the law should have been more general.

Opposition leader Kim Swan said the change would also mean more cruise workers would stay on board manning the casinos, meaning another source of lost revenue as ship workers were big spenders.

With a study currently going on into the feasibility of having gaming in Bermuda Mr. Swan Government should have waited for the results.

Former Premier Alex Scott said against having gaming being extended to Bermuda, even if it was at this point just for on board tourists.

He said US Senator John McCain had told him that casinos brought trouble. "He told me the house gets the profits but the community gets the problems."

Despite this Mr. Scott said he had taken more than a dozen cruises and enjoyed a flutter on board but it was the standard practice to shut down the casino in port.

He said Bermuda risked being regarded as the Judas among other jurisdictions which had held the line against pushy cruise lines seeking to get around those restrictions.

And he said Government also risked the wrath of local business people. "What's the incentive to open a nightclub if you are competing against the attractions of gaming taking place on ship."

This was a point also raised by Opposition MP Mark Pettingill who said the food and drink would be very cheap or free on board making it hard for bars and nightclubs to compete.

And he said it was unconstitutional and discriminatory to allow gaming for one group of people, cruise passengers, while not allowing it for locals. A number of PLP politicians later argued against Mr. Pettingill's claim.

Health Minister Nelson Bascome said the bill was needed because Bermuda is a "dead product" following the demise of venues such as Clay House Inn, 40 Thieves and Jungle Room.

"These are visitors looking for something to do late at night in Bermuda," said Mr. Bascome.

Independent MP Wayne Furbert said he opposed the bill because Government needs to wait until the feasibility study into gambling on the Island is completed, and then it can "package a deal to the community".

Mr. Furbert said many of his constituents were against gaming on moral grounds. He said when he used a gaming machine himself he thought he had broken it because a bell went off — only to realise he had won the jackpot.

The former UBP Leader said Morgan's Point could be turned into a gaming destination called 'Treasure Island'.

PLP backbencher Zane DeSilva said other jurisdictions participating in the legislation included the Bahamas, US Virgin Islands, Aruba, St. Petersburg in Russia, the Dominican Republic and Poland. He said: "These ships are not coming to Bermuda to gamble, they are coming here to visit Bermuda."

Regarding Mr. Pettingill's point on the constitution, Mr. DeSilva said: "The door is open on that. I would like to say this: let's not get too technical. Our country needs every boost it can."

Opposition MP John Barritt said it was unfair that bar owners on the Island had to get rid of their gaming machines, yet cruise ships would be allowed to run casinos.

"Government is taking a position where it's acceptable for them but for us," said Mr. Barritt.

He said cruise ship passengers only spent an average $142 on shore, and with more entertainment on the ship there would be even less incentive for them to spend cash on shore.

Mr. Barritt said Bermuda cannot provide something for everyone and needs to find its niche, which does not include gambling.

Junior Justice Minister Michael Scott said cruise ship passengers would continue to spend on shore during the day, and accused the UBP of becoming 'the party of no'.

He said Mr. Pettingill was talking "absolute poppycock" because all Bermudians have the right to become a passenger, and once you become a passenger, you can play.

Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons said it was a slippery slope because once you start allowing cruise ships to gamble, bar owners and hoteliers will ask for the same privilege.

Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards said Bermuda had a diametrically opposed objective to cruise liners, because the latter want to ensure passengers spend all their cash on the boat.

He said of the bill: "It's an example of a Ministry in desperation. It shows there's a huge imbalance in the negotiations between the cruise lines and the Minister of Tourism. He's at a serious disadvantage here."

PLP backbencher Patrice Minors said she could not support the legislation because of her Christian beliefs — saying it would send out the wrong perception to individuals waiting to see the review of gaming.

Charles Swan of the UBP said tax benefits from gambling should go to Bermuda constituents, not cruise ships.

Works Minister Derrick Burgess said Bermuda needs innovative thinking like this bill because it is no longer a pacesetter in tourism.

Shadow Works and Engineering Minister Patricia Gordon Pamplin said that on the cruises she had been on she had witnessed "people queuing up to get to their favourite machines at the time the casinos opened".

"If cruise ships open at ten, people will start to waltz off Front Street, back onto the boat,' she said.

Finance Minister and Deputy Premier Paula Cox said: "Clearly what we are doing today is debate on an issue which seems to be emotive for a number of people."

She said: "To me this is a simple issue. We are looking at how we can reinvent our tourism product and what we can do to add value."

Ms Cox said: "I don't have any difficulty in supporting this Bill. As Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance we could not remain mute on an issue like this."

As the Premier moved the Bill to be committed and moved through the clauses to be approved, Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons asked why there was no reference to the casinos being open after 10 p.m. in the legislation.

Dr. Brown said: "There is no time in the Bill, it will be covered in the agreement. The timing is 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and that will be covered in the agreement."

Dr. Gibbons said: "What the honourable Member is saying is if the agreement is changed, there is nothing to stop the cruise line ships being open all the time if the Government agrees to that."

Dr. Brown said: "That is correct but the Government has committed that the only time we've negotiated and discussed is 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. "

Shadow Justice Minister Mark Pettingill, a lawyer, then took issue with reference to the Act of section 155 (3) of the Criminal Code Act 1907.

"I'm not certain there is a section of Section 155 (3) of the Criminal Code Act," he said.

"There is a 155 (1) and (2) but not a (3). For clarity we need to be sure there is this."

Dr. Brown said: "I've been instructed subsection 3 is inserted under clause 6."

But Mr. Pettingill replied: "What we are doing is amending the Criminal Code. It is the most offending section of this whole Act so it's important I raise it as it shouldn't go in at clause 4.

"That is an unconstitutional amendment, it is unconstitutional because of the amendment. It's not the definition within our Constitution."

He said that under section 12 (3), "Discrimination as it relates to our society, the expression discriminatory means affording different treatment to different persons attributable wholly to their place of origin.

"I am saying what this is what causes the difficulty under section 5. This is our Constitution. What the amended section is going to do is allow people to game in the jurisdiction of Bermuda if you're a passenger but it will not allow Bermudians to game on land or anywhere.

"Anyone who isn't a passenger is being discriminated against."

Mr. Pettingill said: "What this does is allow you under the Criminal Code, you are saying you can keep a public gaming house in Bermuda on a cruise ship if you run it but not in a house on dry land."

He said: "It's an offence to keep a common gaming house in the jurisdiction of Bermuda but this clause will allow certain people to keep a gaming house in Bermuda, but not Bermudians.

"The question is simple, is anyone discriminated against because they can't keep a common gaming house? The simple answer is yes, the Bermudians can't, but the people on the ship can.

"We are affording different treatment to different persons, mainly on the basis of the place of origin. The owners of the ship as opposed to Bermudians."

Dr. Brown then said: "Bermudians can't run gaming houses in Bermuda if it is illegal in Bermuda. The honourable member is saying that itself is unconstitutional. If there are Bermudians which want to do it, there is nothing to preclude a Bermudian from buying shares in a cruise line."

Mr. Pettingill replied: "Let the public be clear now, the Premier is saying 'everybody buy a share in Royal Caribbean and we can open up new gaming houses tomorrow'. Everybody buy a share on the advice of the Premier."

The House approved clauses 1 to 9 but then the Premier said: "In light of issues raised I'm going to ask the House to rise and report."

The Bill was suspended in its Committee stage.