Noncompliance and nonpayment of fees have caused Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International to lose its license operate a Saipan casino, at least temporarily. Now, with the casino shut down for more than a year and no reopening in sight, there may be no need for a casino regulator.
Saipan is the largest island in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a U.S. protectorate in the western Pacific. According to Marianas Variety, CNMI Secretary of Finance David Atalig said funding for the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) is not a priority for the local government.
Last month, the CCC suspended IPI’s casino license. The company has repeatedly failed to comply with the requirements of its license agreement, including paying its annual US$15.5 million license fee and a US$3.1 million regulatory fee.
Those deficits mean IPI likely will not get any a US$515 million rescue package coming from the federal government, reported Inside Asian Gaming.
“We’ll make sure that employees of the CCC are getting their payroll, but we also need to focus on what their priorities are knowing that there is no casino operating at the moment,” Atalig said.
IPI has been given six months to repay the license fee, the regulatory fee and a US$6.6 million fine or risk having its license revoked.
