The Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, Arnold Palacios, has noted that there is no more settlement procedure for its casino license with Imperial Pacific International, given its bankruptcy filing.

Policy analyst John Gonzales, member of Save Garapan, is urging the authorities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to make minimum requirements to operate electronic gambling operations more strict.

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' (CNMI) latest move to legalize online gaming is just a "desperate attempt" to assuage the territory's financial woes, says expert Ben Lee. Due to the ongoing demise of Saipan's only IR property - Imperial Pacific International - the territory is now pulling out all the stops in an effort to raise funds. But worries compound over how legislation would be rolled out, and how comprehensive oversight can be.

The new proposal by the authorities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to legalize online gambling “appears to be yet another desperate attempt to source new revenue for their pension black hole”, notes IGamiX Managing Partner Ben Lee.

The Commonwealth Casino Commission (CMNI) has asked the court to find Imperial Pacific International (IPI) incompliant pursuant to a previous commission order, requiring the casino operator to pay, over $25 million, in full, the Saipan Tribune reported.

Check out the CNMI location set scouted by Fortuna Investments' Tim Shepherd for the next Netflix drama: Imperial Pacific, which has written off more debt in the past three years than the whole of the Las Vegas Strip in the past decade.

Saipan-based Imperial Pacific International (IPI) is tipped to owe the CNMI government more than $100 million USD. Awaiting a further capital infusion from investors, Imperial Pacific International has missed payment on its license and regulatory fees for both the 2020 and 2021 periods.

It’s time for The Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to re-evaluate its tourism policy to decide whether it really wants a casino industry after the “mess” created by Imperial Pacific International, says Democratic Party legislator Tina Sablan.

CNMI lawmaker Ralph N. Yumul has introduced new legislation that would allow for up to five casino licenses in Saipan.

CNMI governor Ralph DLG Torres has put his support behind allowing online gaming on the island, as long as the GGR projections made by the gaming regulator holds true.