We hope that he keeps his promise, so that Jamaica can have the law on the books. But Mr Golding must know that there will be much griping and complaints from the country's assorted self-appointed protectors of morals.
But as appears to be his intent, Mr Golding must remain firm and be led by the logic, which, in this case, is the prospect for economic development and lifting large numbers of Jamaicans out of poverty.
On the face of it, this is not the most propitious time globally to be promoting casino investment. For, in the current global recession, gaming, like the entire leisure sector, is not immune. Casino stocks have declined.
The recession, however, won't last forever and Jamaica, having wasted decades cowering at the tyranny of moralising fundamentalists, should be ready. Too much is at stake.
Indeed, Mr Golding has noted that at least two major developments on Jamaica's north shore are, to a substantial degree, predicated on the availability of casino gaming. One is the US$5 billion Harmony Cove resort development in Trelawny for which the selected developers, Tavistock Group, have been promised a casino licence. Another has been promised to an outfit called Celebration Jamaica, which proposed to build a 2,000-room US$1.8 billion resort just down the coast at Rose Hall, St James.
Addressing the major moral crisis
These developments, if they happen, won't cure all of Jamaica's ills, but they surely will help in addressing the major moral crisis we face: large swathes of poverty, inadequacy of education, insufficiency of health care and a broad societal dysfunction. A major cause of this crisis is the inability of Jamaican administrations to afford social investment at the required levels.
Take the case of Macau, the former Portuguese enclave on China's mainland, which, a few years ago, was a sleepy little place, until it discovered casinos. It is now a city to rival Las Vegas. For example, in 2003, the industry grossed $4 billion, but last year it had jumped to $10 billion. Several thousand people have good jobs in Macau's hotels and casinos, even with the recent downturn.
And there is Las Vegas where people wagered over US$11 billion last year, while the city earned much more from the almost 40 million people who visited to have a flutter. In America's top 20 commercial casino markets, the industry grossed over US$34 billion and paid out, according to industry data, about US$5.8 billion in taxes.
We do not presume to develop an industry of comparable size, but casinos will add another element to Jamaica's tourist industry, from which taxes, if we are so inclined, can be earmarked for special services, such as education and health.
Of course, legal gambling is not new to Jamaica and neither are casinos - of a sort. We already have lotteries, horse racing and so-called gaming lounges, which usually have almost all the games of formal casinos, except live card and dice games and croupiers.
We should end the hypocrisy and seek to maximise returns from the industry. Poverty, after all, is the real immorality.
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