Looking at the timeline casino in Jamaica

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1978: Prime Minister Michael Manley tells hotel workers and community leaders in Montego Bay that “this Government will not, under any circumstances, permit casino gambling in Jamaica”.

For most of the next two decades, the subject of casino gaming was taboo in Jamaica as, like Prime Minister Manley, the Church also took strong objection to the idea of introducing casino gambling to the island.

However, with Manley’s policies of the 1970s making way for new ideas in the 1990s, the casino debate once again came to the fore.

1995: Prominent Montego Bay businessmen Godfrey Dyer and Winston Dear start a fresh lobby for casino gaming, arguing that it would be worthwhile addition to the island’s tourism offerings. As in the 1970s, the Church again raised objections.

2003: Casino gaming is advanced as a possible component of the Tourism Master Plan, which has a mandate to diversify the nation’s tourism.

2004: In his capacity as president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, Godfrey Dyer renews his call for casino gambling, claiming the tourist sector was lacking in night-time attractions.

2004: Beverley Lopez, the president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, issues a call for the legalisation of casino gambling in Jamaica, arguing that having studied the impact of casino gambling, there was no need for the hesitation in introducing it.

2009: A proposal by the Government and tourism interests to introduce large-scale casino gaming in western Jamaica earns the wrath of scholars at the University of the West Indies (UWI). Diaram Ramjee Singh, a lecturer in managerial economics, said it was not in the best interests of the country.

2011: The House of Representatives approves the casino regulations, paving the way for the granting of licences for casino gaming in Jamaica.

2012: The Senate passes the regulations to facilitate the application of casino gaming licences for approved integrated resort development.

2012: Evelyn Smith, the president of Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, welcomes the passing of the casino gaming regulations by the Senate and says her organisation is awaiting details on how the new regulations would be implemented

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