HAMILTON, Bermuda (CMC) – The opposition United Bermuda Party (UBP) says it will propose holding a debate on establishing a national lottery for funding the arts and sports when the House of Assembly reconvenes in November. UBP MP Charlie Swan told the Royal Gazette newspaper that he plans to table a motion saying the House “supports a national lottery for the express purpose of funding the development of our youth in sports and/or the arts and/or music”.
The proposal was first mentioned in parliament in the UBP’s Budget Reply in February.
Swan, one of only two MPs left in the UBP which ran the country for 30 years until it was ousted by the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) in 1998, said the time had come for the matter to be “discussed seriously”.
He said the issue of improving athletic performance was an important one for small countries such as Bermuda.
Lack of funding support had driven many of the island’s elite athletes overseas, he added.
“It is time for the topic of a national lottery to be discussed seriously. It is time to put any negatives into perspective and recognise that increased funding for sports, the arts and music can play a significant part in the rejuvenation of our island’s culture and sense of self,” Swan said.
The main opposition, One Bermuda Alliance (OBA), said it supported a Bermuda lottery in principle, but the economics of a Bermuda lottery might prove challenging, given the island’s small population of 65 000.
“The best possibility for a Bermuda-based lottery would be to operate it as an international lottery, whereby we could dramatically enlarge the market for ticket sales,” an OBA spokesman said.
Asked the ruling PLP’s position on a national lottery to fund sports and the arts, a spokesman said: “When it comes to pursuing other sources of revenue to help us continue to investing in Bermudians, we’re not taking anything off the table”.
Premier Paula Cox, who attended the London 2012 Summer Olympics, has promised more support for Bermuda’s athletes ahead of the 2016 Games in Rio.
Bermuda is bidding to end a 36-year Olympic medal drought, having only ever won one medal – a bronze by heavyweight boxer Clarence Hill at the 1976 Games in Montreal.