David Burt needs to “come clean” on why plans for a casino at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club fell through due to time delays, the Opposition said yesterday.

Craig Cannonier, the One Bermuda Alliance shadow tourism minister, said the Premier must explain why an American company trying to develop a casino at the hotel pulled out of the project.

Establishing casinos on the island is one of the four key areas of economic growth outlined by the Government.

Peter Hoetzinger, president of Century Casinos, which was behind the casino plan at the Hamilton Princess, said that with the existing legislative framework, the company could not see the project being completed in a reasonable time, if ever.

Yesterday Mr Cannonier said: “The Premier needs to come clean on what went wrong here.

“The lack of transparency speaks volumes to the incompetence of the current Government.

“Century just could not see a clear way forward. How did the Government let this happen?

“There were delays, but what were the other issues? The Premier needs to tell us what the issues were, and how he intends to move forward with the situation.”

The Hamilton Princess said it has stopped searching for a new operator until the Bermuda Gaming Commission was able to provide a “viable path forward.”

In 2017, backers of the hotel’s casino plan predicted that it could create up to 100 jobs. It was to be owned by the hotel’s owners, the Green family, and managed by Century Casinos.

Both the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club and the St Regis hotel in St George’s submitted applications for licences and Mr Burt predicted that the island’s first casino would open by the end of 2021.

Despite being given a licence, there is also still no date for the opening a casino at the St Regis.

In 2020, Mr Burt took gaming on as minister responsible for economic development in Bermuda, a portfolio now held by Jason Hayward.

The three other areas selected by the Government to drive economic growth are vertical farming, development of the Tynes Bay waste treatment facility and the creation of an East Hamilton economic empowerment zone.

The Government and the BGC, who were asked for a comment last Friday, have again been contacted for comment.