In 2020, the casino license of Saipan operator Imperial Pacific International (IPI) was suspended due to IPI’s failure to pay millions in annual fees. IPI now faces the revocation of that license at a January 31 hearing of the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC), the gaming regulator for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).
On November 30 commissioners gave IPI 30 days to pay its debts, a total of $62 million, or risk revocation. According to the Saipan Tribune, the annual fee of $15.5 million has gone unpaid for four years.
IPI has claimed that the Covid-19 pandemic was a force majeure event that caused the closure of the Imperial Pacific Palace in March 2020. Last month, it sought a jury trial in the matter, demanded an injunction to stop enforcement of the payment order, and said the CCC itself should pay restitution for regulatory fees collected in the past.
IPI demanded that the CNMI stop “interfering with IPI’s use and enjoyment of its contractual and property rights, amounting to an unauthorized taking without just compensation.”
Asia Gaming Brief reports that IPI has two active civil suits against the CCC, claiming the body is in breach of its casino license agreement and has taken a “judicial role” in the dispute.
