Casino regulator seeking US$25 million in back payments, fines from Saipan’s Imperial Pacific International

October 21, 2022 World Casino & Hotel Industry Updates

Saipan’s Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) is seeking more than US$25 million in back payments from embattled casino operator Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC following the 2021 suspension of IPI’s casino license.

According to the Saipan Tribune, the CCC has filed a petition requesting the court find IPI non-compliant with a previous order which found the regulator was within its rights to suspend the operator’s license. It also wants IPI to pay almost US$25.3 million in missed license fees and mandatory payments, plus interest.

That would, however, represent only a quarter of the US$100 million IPI currently owes. The CCC earlier this year called a hearing with the intention of revoking IPI’s casino license completely, although that hearing was put on hold after the company was granted a temporary restraining order.

The two organizations subsequently engaged in settlement talks which have since broken down after a US$150 million cash injection touted by IPI failed to materialize. Instead, the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands lifted a stay on the sale of electronic gaming machines owned by IPI and stored at its shuttered Saipan casino, Imperial Palace‧Saipan, with the first of a series of online auctions held last week.

IPI’s latest request for payment of US$25 million comes after IPI failed to make any payments in relation to the court’s previous enforcement order, including the repayment of outstanding license and regulatory fees plus penalties totalling US$6.6 million.