NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Voters in the Bahamas on Monday overwhelmingly rejected a referendum to legalize gambling for citizens of the archipelago off Florida’s east coast, where locals were already barred from betting in casinos at the islands’ tourist resorts.

Underground gambling operations called “web shops” where Bahamians bet on numbers in televised U.S. lotteries have become commonplace in recent years. The shops operate in violation of Bahamian law, but police and political leaders have largely turned a blind eye to them for years.