Online gambling for the Marianas?

Online gambling could be coming to the Mariana Islands following the passage this week of Tinian municpal House Local Bill 20-30, introduced by Rep. Edwin Aldan.

The bill amends the existing Casino Gaming Control Act of 1989 to permit online gambling and set tax and fee rates, and was passed unanimously last Friday and sent to the governor for ratification.

The amendment includes provisions restricting operators to “hotels with 300 units and an operational hotel-casino complex casino and the implementation of a geolocation software limiting internet gaming activities to within intra-island borders of the Second Senatorial District and between jurisdictions where the conduct of internet gaming is legal.”

Licence and fee sections propose:

“An annual conditional or plenary license fee of $500,000 shall be paid to the commission upon approval of the application provided that when a casino license is issued less than the period of the 12 months of the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, the fee shall be calculated on a quarterly basis and paid on the period remaining.

“A licensee may opt to pay an annual conditional or plenary license fee of $2 million and waive payment of casino revenue taxes at the stated tax rate.

“A licensee may opt to pay an additional annual fee of $300,000 for the operation of internet gaming. The annual internet license fee may be waived for a casino licensee who opts to pay an annual plenary or conditional casino license fee of $2 million but may not waive payment of internet gambling revenue tax.”

The proposed amendment also provides that, “An internet gambling revenue tax of 5 percent of gross internet gambling revenue… shall be paid each month by the licensee granted an internet gaming operator license.”

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