Saipan says no to remote gambling proposal

Saipan’s House Committee on Commerce and Tourism will not recommend the passage of a proposal for the establishment of a remote gaming industry on the island.

The decision, largely based on the US Government’s crackdown on online poker websites last year, also posed the question of constitutionality reports the Saipan Tribune.

The panel, chaired by Rep. Edmund Villagomez (Cov-Saipan) recommended the “filing” of Rep Froilan Tenorio’s (Cov-Saipan) House Bill 17-186 saying: “Your committee finds it inappropriate to take action on a legislation that presents more questions than answers in this time of economic hardship.”

The bill was introduced in March 2011 following another failed attempt by Tenorio that proposed the legalisation of casino gaming on Saipan.

Last year Pacific Island Trade and Invest were actively seeking investors for a project that aimed to pair live dealer internet action with several land casinos with the hope of expanding revenue opportunities on the Island .

Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean.