Governor Ralph Torres of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is warning Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International (IPI) to pay its annual license fee or face suspension or revocation of that license.
According to Inside Asian Gaming, on August 26 Torres sent a letter to IPI CEO Donald Browne in which he rejected a request by the Saipan casino operator for an abatement of its US$15.5 million license fee requirement. IPI also requested that the government postpone a US$3 million regulatory fee because of Covid-19, which forced casino operations to close in March.
“I assume by ‘abatement for the year of 2020,’ IPI seeks to be absolved from paying the required fee entirely,” Torres said in his letter. “This request cannot be dealt with administratively, as the fee has been set by law.” He said the fee is “unconditional.”
Torres said IPI has also failed to pay its mandatory US$20 million Community Benefit Fund requirement and is now US$37 million in arrears.
“This letter serves as the notice of intent to suspend or revoke the license,” Torres wrote, but added that IPI “now is entitled to an ‘adequate and reasonable time to cure’ the breach.”
A statement from the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) issued on August 25 affirmed its commitment to “monitoring gaming operations within the territory and, when required, issuing such orders to maintain a safe and fair environment for operators, their staff, contracted vendors and the CNMI population as a whole.”
CCC Chairman Edward C. DeLeon Guerrero said the commission “will remain committed to ensuring all casino gaming operations in Saipan comply with both local and federally mandated regulations.“
He added, “The CCC has no authority to issue an exclusive casino license, and the license can only be suspended or revoked upon finding clear and convincing evidence during a hearing” by unanimous vote of the commissioners.
