Numbers have been thriving since the 1800’s and is associated with poor communities around the world. Gambling has been around for many years in the Bahamas. The casino zone originated in the 1920’s and although gambling was banned nationwide, The Bahamian Club which was located West Bay Street, east of Fort Charlotte was a small casino that operated seasonally. The first anti-gambling law was passed in 1901, and was gradually strengthened to create an absolute ban on the operation of gaming houses and lotteries for profit. However, in 1939 the law was amended to allow exceptions to the rule. The 1967 Commission of Inquiry on casino gambling, the change was due to the opening of small casino on a seasonal basis at Cat Cay which was illegal. The amendment was allowed to help the government to exempt any person or club from the law’s provisions. The effect was to create a licensing procedure which caused the hotel to be regularized. These exemptions excluded minors, employed residents, civil servants and persons born in the Bahamas from gambling. At the time only non-Bahamians and visitors were allowed to gamble in the casinos.
Presently, the government is holding a referendum on the national lottery and the regulation of the number houses. The Prime Minister Perry Christie left the fate of gambling in the hands of the Bahamian people. Whether the national lottery should be instituted and/or webshop-type gaming should be