The Senate bill on the casino will be tackled in the next session which is scheduled this Wednesday.
The bill was supposed to be passed on final and third reading, it was deferred however for further discussions.The House Committee on Commerce and Trade chaired by Del. Swenny Ongidobel meanwhile endorsed the passage of the House version of the casino bill citing that it is one way to attract new tourists to Palau by diversifying the attractions in the country.The bill will permit five casinos to be licensed, and establishes a detailed procedure for doing so. The bill requires that the Chief of the Division of Property and Supply, within 30 days of this bill becoming law, issue a request for proposals for casino-resorts to be built in Palau.It is also required that the proposal include a bid for the amount the casino-resort would commit to paying the Republic of Palau as an incentive for the people of Palau to accept gaming in their country and to grant it a license. This fee, called a “casino initiation fee,” must be at least 10 million dollars, and can be paid over four years. There would be no upward limit on a casino initiation fee. “Your Committee is fully aware of the dangers of compulsive and addictive gambling, the negative effect the availability of gaming can have on low income individuals, and the threat of an increase in money laundering or other crimes related to gambling activities. To preemptively combat these dangers, this bill will create a highly regulated system of controlled gaming that will be paired with high-end resort facilities and marketed to high-end tourists who have the financial resources to enjoy gaming as a pastime,” the committee said in its report.
