Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn announced on Friday that legislation to govern the online gaming industry is coming soon.
He said the Government is implementing measures to govern activities that could present significant risks to the financial sector and wider economy.
“In a risk context, we are in the final stages of addressing a couple of key matters,” Straughn told global business representatives at the close of the two-day Barbados Risk and Insurance Management Conference at the Barbados Hilton Resort.
“We had a longstanding process with respect to upgrading our banking and insolvency regime. That is almost complete and I hope to be able to bring that piece of legislation to Parliament before the end of June in order to put the entire framework for resolution of these matters on an international standing.
“Equally important and more directly related to risk, is a new betting and gaming framework which we are bringing into play, also similarly within that time frame,” he added.
Straughn explained that the betting and gaming regulation was critical given the proliferation of online gaming that potentially exposes Barbadians to “the similar types of risk that is taking place within the high-frequency trading space”.
“We are going to be bringing a new regime with respect to being able to address the risk associated with those things. Why are these things important? Because our citizens are currently engaging in e-commerce type activities that we are not currently capable of regulating,” he said.
Straughn disclosed that the Government was working closely with the telecommunications industry to put a system in place for monitoring, adding that authorities would also be working with an undisclosed entity to build capacity and identify skill sets to provide sophisticated support for regulation.
Recalling the collapse of the Trinidad and Tobago-based Colonial Life Insurance Corporation (CLICO) in early 2011 and the unreasonably long time it took for a resolution, Straughn said work has been ongoing “to ensure that should anything like that ever happen again, there would be a very clear and defined process with respect to how to resolve these matters”.
Straughn told the gathering that as Barbados sought to build its economic fortune, it was important to learn from the experiences of others around the world.
He gave the assurance that local regulators will continue to remain vigilant as new and more sophisticated businesses seek to enter the market.
Straughn acknowledged the potential for significant loss and major economic fallout from certain activities while citing the recent failure of the crypto trading firm FTX in the Bahamas.
“There will always be risk. You can never totally eliminate risk. As Government, we want to facilitate the improvement of technology and the investment in technology in order for us to do things faster but achieving that efficiency cannot be at the expense of the financial system or the persons who actively participate in that space,” he said.
(MM)
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