Next month voters in the Northern Marianas islands of Saipan and Rota will decide whether to allow casino gambling and the arguments for and against are raging in the media. The local Catholic Church has predictably urged voters to reject the ballot proposals, calling casinos ‘an illusion of economic prosperity.’ The casino initiative in Saipan is led by the CNMI Indigenous Entrepreneurs Inc, a group that wants to establish a casino on the lines of tribal gaming in the United States.

On Rota the casino initiative is led by the Rota Economic Development Task Force and is proposing unlimited casino licences to be issued by a future gaming commission. In November 2003 a similar ballot measure was voted down by Rota residents, but with a smaller majority than in previous referendums. With a declining economy the islanders may support the initiative this year, even though the CNMI administration would prefer to see the casino industry developed further on Tinian rather than spread to Saipan and Rota.

The island of Tinian, where the first casino opened at the Tinian Dynasty Hotel in 1998, does not want to lose its monopoly status. If casinos are developed on the larger island of Saipan, Tinian could well lose much of its present market. The Saipan casino proposal, which would allow participation by those of Northern Marianas descent only, would reinvest profits in the local community. The initiative would have to be approved by a minimum two-thirds of registered voters. (E-10.08.07)

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