Saipan’s casino prospects suddenly have brightened after the island’s Senate approved a bill introduced in the House of Representatives to authorize a single license.
The bill was the fourth introduced in the House in as many years, the previous three defeated in the Senate over social impacts and opposition from incumbent gambling venues in the smaller neighboring islands of Tinian and Rota.
Saipan is the largest island of the western Pacific archipelago, which is organized as a self-governing US commonwealth known as the Northern Marianas.
The difference this time was the urgency of the government’s need for revenue to shore up a depleted pension fund and pay for other critical public services, and with that in mind, the bill has set the investment bar high at a minimum of US$2 billion. The 25-year license also would require a payment of $30 million up front by the winning bidder followed by payments of $15 million a year after that. A gaming revenue tax, corporate tax and other fees also will apply.
It’s not certain, however, that Governor Eloy Inos will sign the measure. He has supported legalization in the past, but a spokesperson said he has concerns about a number of changes in the bill from previous versions. These were not specified, according to news reports.
In the meantime, the Marianas Economic Research and Development Foundation plans to circulate a petition calling for a referendum on legalization. Saipan voters have twice rejected casinos in the past.
