The three remaining members of the Commonwealth Casino Commission hold a meeting on Thursday: Mario Taitano, Chairman Edward C. Deleon Guerrero and Vice Chairman Ralph S. Demapan.
THE Commonwealth Casino Commission is recommending an amendment to the casino law to allow multiple casino licenses, CCC Chairman Edward C. Deleon Guerrero said on Thursday.
In his report to the commission during its regular meeting that started at 10:30 a.m., Deleon Guerrero informed Vice Chairman Ralph S. Demapan and Commissioner Mario Taitano that he had met with Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez and Senate President Edith Deleon Guerrero to discuss the status of the casino industry on Saipan.
He told the lawmakers that “we need to remove the exclusivity and let the Legislature entertain maybe three [casino licenses] or whatever the number they want to entertain.”
In the 22nd Legislature, Sens. Edith Deleon Guerrero and Paul A. Manglona introduced Senate Bill 22-23, which would remove the exclusivity of casino license. The Senate did not act on the bill.
For his part, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Ralph N. Yumul said he will discuss the proposed amendments to the casino law with the CCC.
Deleon Guerrero said since the community benefit fund is not in the casino law, it should not be included in any future casino license agreement. Instead, he proposes the imposition of a gaming tax on casino operation.
P.L. 18-56 does not impose a gaming tax on Imperial Pacific International, the island’s lone casino operator, which has been unable to remit its contribution to the community benefit fund since 2020.
Chairman Deleon Guerrero said the Senate president “was pretty excited about the prospect of improving the [casino] industry.” As for the speaker and other House members, they told him they were reviewing the proposed amendments and would call him for follow-up questions. Right now, he was told, the House is working on the fiscal year 2025 budget.
Chairman Deleon Guerrero said he also proposed removing the non-gaming aspects of the casino industry from the CCC’s list of responsibilities. He was referring to the construction of a hotel and integrated resort as part of a casino project.
“Other [government] entities can handle the non-gaming [aspects] and we, the casino commission, can focus specifically on the gaming component,” Chairman Deleon Guerrero said.
“If we want to revive this industry, we should do so with the idea of looking at how gaming itself could benefit the economy and isolate the construction issues…because those are not related to the gaming industry. I spent an enormous amount of time explaining that [to lawmakers]. In any amendment we should keep that in mind,” he added.
