July 27, 2026
Written byNatalie Campbell
The National Security Council (NSC) has approved a series of strategic, legislative and policy initiatives to strengthen Jamaica’s economic security, citizen security and national resilience in response to evolving criminal, technological and social threats.
The decisions were taken at the Council’s monthly meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness last Thursday.
The National Security Council reaffirmed that Jamaica’s global services sector is one of the country’s most strategic economic assets and a pillar of national economic security.
The Council noted that the industry has undergone significant structural change with employment declining from approximately 60,000 to 40,000 workers, and annual foreign exchange earnings falling to between US$700 million to US$900 million.
It noted further that despite these pressures, the sector remains one of Jamaica’s largest export industries and among the country’s leading earners of foreign exchange.
The Council stated that protecting and regrowing the industry is a national strategic priority.
The Council concluded that lottery scamming has evolved into a significant threat to Jamaica’s economic security and citizen security.
It has increased the cost of doing business, weakened Jamaica’s competitiveness, undermined investor confidence and damaged the country’s reputation as a trusted destination for global digital services.
Prime Minister Holness said the Government has resolved to eliminate lottery scamming and dismantle the entire criminal ecosystem that enables, facilitates and profits from it.
To support that objective, the Council approved the development of legislative and policy reforms to among other things modernise Jamaica’s lottery scam legislation, substantially strengthen criminal penalties and enhance regulatory oversight, governance and compliance across the global services sector.
https://iriefm.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/PM-ON-LOTTERY-SCAMMING.mp3
