‘Get electronic gaming bill moving’

If Gov. Eloy S. Inos could have his way, he said he would like the Senate and House to reconcile remaining differences on a stalled electronic gaming bill that the governor sees as a potential major source of new revenues that the CNMI needs to meet its obligations.

This comes days after the Senate filed on Wednesday a House bill legalizing casinos on Saipan, essentially killing the controversial revenue-generating measure once again. Moreover, a video lottery operations request for proposals has yet to be released, months after video lottery became legal to also help generate new sources of income for the government.

“I recommend they all get together, reconcile (their differences) on the issue and see if we can get the bill moving,” Inos said in an interview at the Christmas tree lighting on Friday night to kick off the holiday season.

The governor said he looks forward to the Senate and House’s decision to “resolve” outstanding issues.

“They need to hash it out, their differences,” he added.

A few days before the Senate session on Rota last week, Senate President Ralph Torres (R-Saipan) removed from the session calendar the electronic gaming bill over his concerns with a conference committee report and recommendation of a $2,500 license fee per electronic gaming machine.

Torres said he is humbly asking for reconsideration of the fee which he described as “too low,” considering that the government imposes a $12,500 in license fee for each poker machine on Saipan. He is proposing a $5,000 license fee per electronic gaming machine, which he said is a compromise, considering that the original proposal was $10,000.

There is no telling whether the president will be able to convince the joint Senate-House committee to reconsider their report and recommendation.

But just the same, the nine-member Senate has enough votes to pass the conference committee report on the electronic gaming bill, with or without the president’s vote.

The same committee report recommends that businesses engaged in electronic gaming are not eligible for a qualifying certificate, a tax break program. It also only allows electronic gaming operations at hotels or resorts with at least 100 rooms or those attached to a golf course if they have less than 100 rooms. These are only allowed on Saipan.