Applications For Operation of Approved Integrated Resort Developments Open Wednesday

Applications for the operation of approved integrated resort developments will be opened on Wednesday (October 6), as the Government shores up its strategies to attract casino gaming investment in Jamaica.

An integrated resort development consists of a mix of various tourism amenities and facilities in the same precinct, including but not limited to hotels, hotel rooms, villas, casinos, attractions, sporting facilities, entertainment facilities, service centres and shopping centres.

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, who made the announcement, explained that under the Casino Gaming Act, the Minister responsible for Finance may make an Order declaring an integrated resort development to be an approved integrated resort development.

“This will enable the developer to then make an application to the Casino Gaming Commission for a licence to be issued under the Act to operate a casino within that resort development,” he said in a statement in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (October 5).

The Casino Gaming Act was passed by the Houses of Parliament in March 2010 and brought into force in June 2010 to facilitate Jamaica’s entry into and subsequent regulation of the casino gaming sector.

One of the principal objectives of the Act is to encourage the establishment of integrated resort developments by licensing these developments to offer casino gaming as part of a mix of various tourism amenities and facilities available to the guests of hotels in such developments.

Importantly, Dr. Clarke noted that the amendments, which were made to the Casino Gaming Act earlier this year to change the requirements for the designation of an integrated resort development, are meant to enhance the regime and to strengthen its appeal to potential investors, and by doing so attract and increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Jamaica.

“As at now, there is no operating casino resort in Jamaica despite the fact that we have had this legislation since 2010. It is our intention, with the launch of this process, for Jamaica to eventually have a casino gaming resort, and it is also our intention to attract hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars of investment to Jamaica via this means,” he said.

He pointed out that changes to the requirements to be designated an integrated resort development include the establishment of 1,000 hotel rooms, which was reduced from the prior requirement for 2,000 rooms; that five hundred of the constructed rooms are to be designed and implemented as luxury rooms; and there is a minimum capital investment for an integrated resort development of US$500 million.

“In addition, another important change included is that all elements of the approved integrated resort development are to be constructed and operational within three years of the commencement of operation of any casino activity on the development, and that failure to comply will result in a penalty,” he said.

In the meantime, Mr. Clarke informed that the application process and selection of the approved integrated resort developments will be managed by a 10-member enterprise team, chaired by Dr. Dana Dixon, which he appointed last month.

“That enterprise team… includes persons with a diversity of skills and experience drawn from across the public sector and supplemented with persons with private-sector experience, including persons knowledgeable about our anti-money laundering and counterterrorism framework, among other notable competences,” he said.

Dr. Clarke noted that the team will bring transparency to the process, “to ensure… the best possibility that a successful applicant, indeed, does build and apply for and eventually operate a casino resort”.

He informed that further details, including the guidelines for application, will be made public via the daily newspapers and the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service website at mof.gov.jm, as well as Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO’s) website, www.dobusinessjamaica.com.