Growing opposition to casinos, new BT-RCB poll reveals
Hundreds of people from all walks of life responded this week to a BT-RCB poll on the mega casino issue with a combined vote of 70 per cent saying it was a ‘bad’ development for the country.
In the most successful, ever, email poll conducted by the Business Times (BT) which drew nearly 600 contributions, respondents had many things to say on the issue, reflecting a dire need for the government to call for an open debate on “should or should we not encourage mega casinos”.
Students, civil society campaigners, company chairpersons, CEOs, business personalities, professionals and the working class all responded to the BT’s email poll and the Research Consultancy Bureau (RCB)’s street poll. The RCB poll which drew an equal number of respondents had a higher “NO (bad)” response (82 per cent) to the question: “ Are large-scale casinos by foreign operators good or bad for the country?” The BT poll response was 57.4 per cent saying “NO”.
The approval of mega casinos by Australian businessman James Packer, Sri Lanka’s richest man Dhammika Perera and John Keells Holdings (which have so far applied to set up casinos, some within multi-development projects), has stirred a lot of debate in the country, with religious groups opposing it on the grounds that it would lead to anti social developments.
Respondents in both polls, responding to the second question: “Will these projects lead to significant negative societal impacts?” opted for a slightly higher (72 per cent) “Y” vote. An analysis of the two polls shows that the working class (those interviewed on the street) were totally opposed to casinos while the middle and upper classes (email poll) appeared to be undecided though the majority said it was a negative development. An analysis of the comments reveals that most people are opposed to casinos because they are not confident that a tight regulatory system, barring locals from entering casinos or other preventing other negative issues, will be properly enforced.
“If the rule of law is not properly enforced what guarantees would we have that these casinos would be strictly controlled,” asked one respondent. Responses were mixed to the question “will these projects generate new foreign investments and significantly enhance tourism sector earnings”.
One respondent from the email poll said, “If casinos are here to stay we need a watertight regulatory framework and commitment to work within that. Maybe this way the negatives can be countered. However experience doesn’t indicate that this will happen”. From the street, a respondent said “casinos are promoted in an attempt to fulfill the needs of a few people”.