Online gambling could be coming to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) as a financial lifeline to Saipan’s only casino operator Imperial Pacific International (IPI).

On Tuesday, the CNMI Senate approved the final reading of House Bill 21-31, which authorizes the CNMI’s three ‘senatorial districts’ – Saipan & the Northern Islands, Rota, Tinian & Aguuijan – to decide whether to authorize online gambling operations in their respective regions. The bill will now return to the House of Representatives for adoption.  

HB 21-31 has been kicking around the legislature since early 2019, about the time it became clear that IPI lacked the capacity to turn a profit running its existing land-based casino operations (or even complete construction of its half-finished facility). Unsurprisingly, IPI expressed early support for HB 21-31, provided it had the exclusive right to offer online gambling.

The Senate approved HB 21-31 by a vote of 6-1 with one abstention. The lone ‘nay’ vote came from Sen. Paul Manglona, who the Saipan Tribune quoted asking his colleagues how they could support handing IPI more responsibilities when they knew that the hapless company was likely to “fall down a cliff.”