Saipan: lawmakers may lift ban on poker machines

Saipan lawmakers are discussing plans to lift a moratorium on poker machines in order to boost gambling revenue.

Saipan.- Lawmakers on the Island of Saipan are considering whether to lift the ban on issuing new poker and pachinko licenses in a bid to boost gambling revenue.

In 2014, lawmakers took the decision to stop issuing licences to anyone other than approved casino operators.

According to local press, House members has been discussing this change in the law last week.

Public Law 18-56, which was enacted in July 2014, states that after April 2015, “no new or additional licenses for poker, pachinko, or similar amusement machines, but not including electronic gaming machines, shall be granted or allowed to operate outside of the approved casino establishment.”

At the time of the suspension, there were over 900 licensed poker machines on Saipan.

During an informal meeting to discuss cost-containment and revenue-generating measures, House Gaming Committee Chairman, Ralph Yumul, brought up the idea of lifting moratoriums on certain business activities, including poker arcades.

The proposed lifting of the moratorium would apply to Saipan only, and to poker machines in areas allowed by law, in order to expand the business and generate additional revenue for the government.

The revenue from casino gambling dropped by over 50 percent in 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce-Bureau of Economic Analysis.