Jamaica Set to Issue Country’s First Casino Operators’ Licenses

Jamaica Set to Issue Country’s First Casino Operators’ Licenses

Jamaica will issue three casino operators’ licenses within the next two years, including at least one before the end of 2011, according to Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s tourism minister.

Speaking at a press conference at the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association’s Caribbean Marketplace in Montego Bay, Bartlett said: “We will institute a cap on the licenses. We don’t want Jamaica to become a casino destination, but we want to offer casino gaming as an option.”

Mr. Bartlett said the country’s first casinos are likely to be located in the Montego Bay, Trelawny and Ocho Rios districts, and are expected to generate up to $40 million annually to the national economy.