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.
A bill is currently under discussion to lower the requirements for operating casino-style electronic gambling from hotels with at least 100 rooms or a golf course to a hotel with just 30 rooms. Currently businesses that operate multiple hotels whose total room count is over 100 can also operate electronic gambling machines.
According to Mariana Variety, Gonzales noted that businesses could be able to count their apartment holdings as hotels, noting that “any physical building can likely qualify for the 30-room minimum requirement”.
“This opens up an unregulated Pandora’s box to allow overnight transformation of vacant buildings that are not aesthetically ready or possibly may not qualify under zoning,” he told the publication.
The analyst points out that the main market for tourists is currently Korean families, and that most punters are actually locals.
The CNMI has been undergoing a series of attempts to restructure its gaming legislation, amongst the ongoing drama surrounding Imperial Pacific International (IPI).
