Samoan Casino ban on locals will not work

Churches chairman Reverend Oka Fauolo said the ban on local people would not work because many had dual citizenship and church leaders were still worried about the negative affects of the casinos no matter what the Government said.

Tenders will soon be put out for the first casinos to be built in Samoa, but local people will be “saved from their own stupidity” and will not be able to use them.

A law passed last October provided licensing for two casinos, one for each of Samoa’s main islands.

The move was opposed by opposition politicians and many church groups, who said it would cause addiction problems in communities that were already facing financial hardship.

However, work went ahead and Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, who is also the minister in charge of the casinos, said officials were now deciding on a process for tendering the building and operation of the facilities.

Source:  Stuff

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News category: Asia Pacific.

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