With casinos closed, could online gambling be an alternative?

With a huge question mark on the islands’ casino industry, can online gambling pose as an alternative?

Rep. Donald M. Manglona (Ind-Rota) addressed this question to members of the Governor’s Economic Recovery Team, during Monday’s House of Representatives committees on Commerce and Tourism hearing on the CNMI’s economic recovery plan.

Manglona asked if the Torres administration is looking into online gaming, given the closure of the casino and poker arcades and the income that the CNMI gets from the industry.

“That’s a sizable amount of income that we get to support all these other services. I know the online gaming bill is in the Senate but it hasn’t been acted on. Is this something the administration is looking at or is it not really much of a priority?” asked Manglona.

The bill, H.B. 21-31, DH1, to which Manglona voted “no” for passage at the House last February, allows senatorial districts to establish and regulate internet gaming.

Rep. Joseph Lee Pan Guerrero (R-Saipan) also followed up with a question on the next step, should a proposal reflecting social distancing and other mitigation measures be submitted by the casino industry to the Economic Recovery Team, or the COVID-19 Task Force for review.

“In the event that IPI comes up with a proposal and submit to your office for review, or the task force, considering the size of the facility, should they have a good plan, will the task force assign front-liners to the facility to ensure social distancing is applied?” Guerrero asked.

Although Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. chief executive officer Esther Muña would not say yes or no, she replied that one of the discussions on the economic recovery plan is to ensure that a monitoring system be in place in businesses.

“The task force will be involved in making sure that business establishments are getting the guidance, that they follow those [guides], and somebody checks on them…check to make sure that they’re still protecting employees and protecting consumers, There’s going to be that responsibility of the task force,” Muña said. CHCC is one of the primary members of the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force.

While there was no direct response to the legislators’ question, Matt Deleon Guerrero, a member of the Governor’s Economic Recovery team, said that restrictions currently apply to casinos, based on Torres’ directive.

In one of his directives addressed to promote social distancing and prevent the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres had ordered the closure of casinos, video poker establishments, e-gaming facilities, and all other businesses engaged in gaming in the CNMI since April.

Also, earlier this month, the Department of Finance denounced reports of illegal lottery games on social media, and asked that people report groups that are hosting illegal gambling on social media by calling 664-1100 or by contacting the Attorney General’s Office at 237-7500.