Previous Story
Regulators will impose additional $3M license fee for Best Sunshine
The Commonwealth Casino Commission will impose an additional $3 million in license fees from Best Sunshine International, Ltd. starting fiscal year 2016.
The commission held a meeting Friday and voted on the additional license fee after making a determination that it would need the necessary funding to continue its regulatory work.
Commission executive director Edward Deleon Guerrero said the commissioners agreed to update its casino regulations, and one major update is the inclusion of the yearly $3 million “flat” fee.
Currently, the casino commission imposes separate license fees for casino employees, gaming tables, gaming machines, and others, from the exclusive casino license holder.
But come Oct. 1, when all of the licenses issued have expired, the commission will impose the “flat” $3 million fee, which will replace the other individual fees.
The CNMI government follows a fiscal year that ends September 30, 2015.
“This ($3 million) is a licensing and regulatory fee,” Deleon Guerrero stressed, adding that the commission has identified this amount as “what we need in order for us to regulate the industry.”
Deleon Guerrero also said BSI has agreed to pay the flat fee but has requested that it pays the amount in two installments.
“The commission agreed that the casino licensee will pay half the amount on Oct. 1, and pay the other half after six months,” Deleon Guerrero said.
He said the commission earlier corresponded with BSI CEO Mark Brown regarding the license fees.
