The Jamaican Ministry of Finance and Planning has issued a Request for Proposals for the Award of Integrated Resort Development Orders.  The purpose of the application is for developments "consisting of a mix of various tourism amenities and facilities...including, but not limited to, hotels, hotel rooms, villas, casinos, attractions, sporting facilities, entertainment facilities, service centres and shopping centres." 

Submissions are due September 30, 2013 and the review period after the submission of the RFPs is expected to last four months.  A copy of the RFP can be found here.

Under Jamaica's Casino Gaming Act of 2010, a prerequisite for the issuance of a casino license is approval as an integrated resort development (IRD).  It is the Minister of Finance who first approves a proposed IRD by issuing a development order.  The Casino Gaming Commission then considers an application for a Casino gaming license.

The Minister of Finance's evaluation criteria for the IRD include: (1) Tourism Appeal and Contribution to Economic Development (25%); Architectural Concept and Design (20%); (3) Development Investment (20%); and (4) Strength of the Consortium and Partners (35%).

Other key points of the Casino Gaming Act include:

  • The Act is the first instance of legalized table games in Jamaica.
  • 10% government levy on gross gaming revenue.
  • A license is contingent on the construction of 2,000 guestrooms of which 1,000 guestrooms are required prior to beginning any gaming activity.

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