AN audit report conducted by Deloitte & Touche LLC says it is uncertain if there will be additional revenue sources to maintain the Commonwealth Casino Commission.
According to the report that the Office of the Public Auditor posted on July 23, 2021, the continuation of CCC’s operations is dependent on the collection of the regulatory and the annual casino license fees from the exclusive licensee, Imperial Pacific International.
However, given the current position of the licensee, “it is not possible to predict that this revenue source will be available in the future periods and it is uncertain if additional revenue sources to maintain the entity as a going concern may transpire.”
At present, the audit report said, CCC has funding for the remaining 40% of its staff until the end of August 2022, with a portion of the remaining budget covering more scaled-down operations.
As such, the report said, the commission “is faced with many questions in locating and identifying dependable sources of funding beyond August 2022 and into fiscal year 2023.”
On June 15, CCC served 60-day termination letters without cause to 22 employees.
Casino Commission Executive Director Andrew Yeom said they had to do this due to budget constraints. He said the staff termination/separation involved around 60% of the CCC workforce.
The Deloitte & Touche audit report also mentioned that as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the commission “expects this matter to negatively impact its future financial results. However, the related financial impact cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.”
The report likewise mentioned some of the actions that CCC has taken to address the losses and negative cash flows from operations including the following:
– Approach the CNMI government for meaningful local funds.
– Work with the CNMI Legislature to amend the law to open the gaming industry to several casino licensees, if in case the exclusive license is revoked or the exclusivity is amicably waived.
The reported noted that the exclusive license may be revoked if complaints/orders are not resolved and more enforcement actions/complaints are filed for revocation.
