Government disputes firm’s announcement
Red Warrior Entertainment, LLC, a U.S.-backed tribal gaming firm, last week announced it had won a license from the government of Tonga to operate Class I, II and III gaming in the Polynesian kingdom. The license was first issued in November and finalized in January, according to a statement from the gaming company, which also expressed its intention to “improve its casino resort government licenses in multiple nations.”
In the statement, Red Warrior CEO Ronald D. Pate said, “A positive move in licenses issued to Red Warrior in 2017 creates optimistic financing opportunities. Red Warrior’s growth in branded casino resorts is balanced against its emerging growth in casino management service opportunities.” He added that the company “is nearly finished rolling out several strategic business efforts in the Caribbean, South Pacific, Africa, Asia, and the Mediterranean.”
According to CalvinAyre.com, the Tavake Tamafua Investment Project will include three facilities on the South Pacific island: an airport hotel and shopping mall; luxury villas; and the Aria Tourism Entertainment Gaming Resort. Red Warrior Entertainment has described itself as the “foreign team counterpart” of Amira-Union-Gatti.
Despite the announcement, Tonga’s Prime Minister Akilisi P?hiva has denied the report, saying gambling is prohibited in the islands under the kingdom’s Criminal Offences Act of 1926.
“Any intention from Red Warrior Entertainment or any casino company to apply for a gaming license would be futile,” according to the prime minister’s office.
New reports, however, indicate that the process to secure that gaming license continues. In fact, the investment company is “on the verge of fulfilling requirements to move on to the next step” of the process, Radio New Zealand reported, quoting one of the Tavake Tamafua’s directors, and Finance Minister Tevita Lavemaau has said he is open to looking at the proposals.
In an interview with Radio Tonga, Red Warrior representatives said Lavemaau said the government “supports the initiative to establish a casino and will grant an exclusive right under conditions to build in Tonga within the next two years.” The gaming license comes with several conditions: a $450 million investment in infrastructure, and a guarantee that 80 percent of labor must be local.
