Chief secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Orville London says he is supportive of any legislation which governs the operations of casinos in T&T.Responding to recent discussions about the number of casinos and private members clubs which operate in Tobago, London said the relevant authorities, including the police and the Government, should ensure they are regulated."If there are casinos in Tobago and they are illegal, then the police should get into action, if they are not illegal and we believe that the number or the process is something which we are not comfortable, then Parliament should get into action because it means the law should be changed and we don't change the law by willing it, we don't change law by talk, we got to change the law by going through a process that will ensure that a bill gets to Parliament which represents whatsoever is the interest that we want to serve."
He spoke during Wednesday's post-Executive news briefing.London said he was supportive of the process which began on June 6, 2013, when Cabinet agreed to the establishment of a legal regulatory framework for the gaming industry after consultation with the relevant stakeholder groups.He said Cabinet agreed to the formulation of a working committee including members of the Revenue Division, Customs and the Financial Intelligence Unit, with a mandate to draft legislation for the industry.The chief secretary said the THA was represented on the Civil Society Committee which had a directive to contribute to a full understanding of the social issues involved in the endeavour.