Gaming MOU signed between TCI and Bahamas 

By Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicos, May 5, 2023 – Following the consistent fiscal over-performance of the country’s gaming industry the Turks and Caicos has reached out to The Bahamas for guidance on developing the lucrative sector resulting in a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the neighbouring countries.

The MOU was signed in The Bahamas on Wednesday May 3rd in the presence of Gaming Boards from both countries.

The Turks and Caicos’ delegation was headed by Stuart Taylor, Deputy Permanent Secretary for the Turks and Caicos Gaming Control Commission.

The gaming industry in The Bahamas is over a century old and under the MOU the Gaming Board will provide expert consultation to the TCI for as much as 18 months to help get the country’s regulatory framework up to par.

Taylor, to the media said: “We want to pull down on The Bahamas’ 100 years of gaming experience so we can implement what they would have learned– in the Turks and Caicos Islands and also we want to help use the MOU to foster and build capacity between our nations.”

E Jay Saunders, Finance Minister and Acting Premier in laying the budget for 2023/24 financial year listed gaming as one of the over-performing industries that gave the government the confidence (and cash) to tackle major initiatives this budget year. The industry had also over-performed in the financial year immediately before (2021/22).

The Turks and Caicos is only the latest country rushing to take advantage of the booming industry according to a Tribune report  with Jamaica, St Maarten, the British Virgin Islands and Trinidad and Tobago also said to be upgrading regulatory frameworks to fall in line with international standards.