The head of Saipan’s Commonwealth Casino Commission, Andrew Yeom, believes moves by the Macau government to tighten its gaming law could see potentially displaced operators eye new opportunities such as the CNMI.

Discussing the future of casino gaming in the region following the debacle of Imperial Pacific International – which is facing revocation of its license for failure to fulfil financial obligations – Yeom said he hoped the CNMI could find another solution rather than wave the white flag.

One of those, The Guam Daily Post reports, could come from Macau with Yeom suggesting a revision to the law limiting the number of concessions to six could see others look further afield. This appears to be a reference to the SAR’s satellite operators with one of the amendments currently being debated in Macau’s Legislative Assembly calling for all satellite casinos to be located within properties owned by the six concessionaires.

Should such amendments become law, Yeom said, “it may be troublesome for others who may not (get a license) and they may find themselves looking for other casino resort investment opportunities elsewhere, preferably in this Asia-Pacific region. The CNMI can be one of their possible destinations.”

Yeom also said China’s crackdown on junkets was changing the way casino operators needed to think about their businesses, adding, “What it means to us is that casino resort investment opportunities are opening up.”

Asked about IPI’s unfinished Saipan integrated resort, Imperial Palace‧Saipan, Yeom said, “We [would] love to see the construction resume, especially in light of the travel bubble with South Korea.”

Imperial Palace‧Saipan closed its doors in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but IPI has since had its casino license suspended by the CCC following a series of complaints for failure to comply with certain requirements under its license agreement.

The complaints, filed by Yeom himself, related to IPI’s failure to pay its annual US$15.5 million license fee in August 2020, failure to pay its annual US$3.1 million regulatory fee in October 2020, failure to contribute US$20 million to the community benefit fund in both 2018 and 2019, failure to comply with its minimum US$2 billion capital requirement and failure to comply with a CCC order to pay all money owing to its vendors.

IPI was also given six months from April to repay both the US$15.5 million casino license fee and US$3.1 million regulatory fee, as well as a US$6.6 million fine, or risk having its license revoked.

The company has since filed an administrative request for the Superior Court in Saipan to conduct a judicial review into its license suspension, which is ongoing.

However, the company is currently at risk of having its license revoked altogether, leaving it with a substantial integrated resort development it can neither complete nor effectively utilise.