Is gambling wrong and sinful?

He said Mc Nicolls’ fundamental error was to allow himself to be influenced by the church’s view that gambling was wrong and sinful, instead of applying his judicial mind to the facts before him.

Anslem Warrick of the St John’s Baptiste Church and its trustees have objected to a licence being granted to Govia, by the Gambling and Betting Authority, to open a gambling pool next to their church on Pembroke Street, Port-of-Spain. McNicolls, who sits as head of the licensing authority, refused to grant the licence.

Govia appealed and Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma and Justice Roger Hamel-Smith heard the appeal yesterday. They reserved judgment.

In refusing to grant Govia a licence, McNicolls provided a written judgment outlining his reasons for so doing.

Martineau and Deborah Peake, who are representing Govia, argued that McNicolls did not give reasons for refusing the licence, choosing instead to highlight the views expressed by the church and other irrelevant matter. He misconstrued the whole issue, said Martineau.

Martineau said the church is entitled to its view about gambling, but we live in a society in which others have different views. He said we live in a secular society in which Parliament has seen it fit to allow gambling. In a packed courtroom, Martineau submitted that McNicolls failed to do a balancing act as he is required to do while assessing the evidence before him. Although Martineau had raised certain grounds in his written submission about McNicolls’ religious beliefs, he did not openly advocate them in obedience to Sharma.

Attorney Seenath Jairam SC, who represented the Gambling and Betting Authority, submitted that McNicolls was not in error, but even if he had failed to give relevant reasons for his findings, the evidence in the matter would have justified his ruling. Sharma said the appeal is not as simple as is being suggested, and that they would need some time before giving their findings.