GOVERNOR Ralph DLG Torres on Tuesday approved House Local Bill 22-8, which doubles the fee imposed on electronic gaming devices including poker machines on Saipan.
Authored by House Floor Leader Ralph N. Yumul, H.L.B. 22-8, which is now Saipan Local Law 22-6, imposes $2,500 or 15% net gaming proceeds, whichever is greater, on all electronic gaming devices on Saipan, including poker amusement machines that are located within e-gaming facilities or hotels. The new fee will be in addition to the existing similar amount of CNMI-wide fees imposed by current law.
Yumul, in an interview said, the additional $2,500 or 15% is imposed only on poker machines and e-gaming devices on Saipan.
The local measure states that “electronic gaming has grown in popularity” on Saipan since it was legalized by Public Law 18-30. Many of the visitors on Saipan are attracted to these gaming facilities because of the safety of the environment and the types of games they offer to their patrons.”
The local bill added that a significant portion of the poker fees dedicated to Saipan had been allotted to the Saipan Higher Education Financial Assistance program to help college students from Saipan.
With the enactment of the Commonwealth casino law or Public Law 18-56, no new poker machines have been allowed to be registered within the CNMI after April 2015. This means that collections from poker fees will decrease because of the prohibition on registering new machines.
Saipan, the bill states, “is dependent on poker fees to pay for local programs, subsidizing local non-profit organizations, local projects and most importantly the SHEFA program.”
“Therefore, the intent of this Act is to impose a local license fee on all electronic gaming devices within the Third Senatorial District-including poker amusement machines that are located within e-gaming facilities or hotels,” the local bill states.
The fees collected under this Act “shall be appropriated by the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation. Provided, however, that should the obligation to SHEFA student scholarship account and the SHEFA operations account drop below its current level ($3,000,000 and $200,000) due to the shortage in poker fee collections and/or any other allocations for SHEFA, the fees collected under this Act shall first subsidize the SHEFA accounts prior to being appropriated for any other purposes.”
House Floor Leader Ralph N. Yumul, left, discusses a bill with Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez during a break from a House session on Tuesday.
