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Casino regulators warn executive order to transfer oversight could disrupt license review as IPI bankruptcy proceeds
Summary
Members of the Commonwealth Casino Commission told a Senate committee that an executive order transferring casino supervision to the Commonwealth Lottery Commission could delay a pending suitability review of a new operator and weaken local regulatory capacity as IPI's bankruptcy and sale to a bidder proceed.
The Commonwealth Casino Commission warned a Senate joint committee that an executive order to transfer supervision of casino gaming from the Casino Commission (CCC) to the Commonwealth Lottery Commission (CLC) could delay a pending suitability review of a proposed new operator and hamstring local regulation.
Commissioner Taitano, appearing before the committee, said the CCC is in the middle of a revocation deliberation tied to IPI’s bankruptcy and that moving oversight now would “delay the timely suitability review of the new casino operator” and “handicap the CNMI’s ability to properly regulate the casino industry.”
The commission described several practical and legal obstacles that, it said, make a fast transfer problematic. The CCC said it has technical teams that test gaming machines to international standards, enforce daily reporting of casino “drop,” audit machine performance and certify hardware and chips. “The casino itself is a 24/7 operation,” Commissioner Taitano told senators, arguing the Lottery Commission’s part‑time membership and coverage of other agencies would not provide the same continuity of on‑site regulatory work.
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