A few days ago, the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) turned down the responses of Imperial Pacific International to four complaints. Also, a fifth complaint against the gambling operator was filed in the Commission, claiming that the casino company failed to pay the regulatory fee for 2021, which it was supposed to pay by October 1st, 2021.
All complaints seek to see the exclusive license of the casino operator to be revoked.
The Executive Director of the CCC, Andrew Yeom, issued a report to the Commission and explained that the responses of Imperial Pacific International to enforcement actions 2021-001 to 2021-004 were signed by a person who was not a lawyer. He further noted that clear legal guidance is probably necessary on the matter, as each of the four aforementioned complaints is seeking the license revocation of the casino company.
IPI Responds to Four Enforcement Actions Seeking Its License Revokation
According to Mr. Yeom, the Commonwealth Casino Commission needs to carefully take into consideration the facts, and all steps in the process need to be in line with the law.
The four enforcement actions that are currently faced by the casino operator are as follows:
- 2021-001: IPI’s failure to pay its Annual License Fee for 2020;
- 2021-002: IPI’s failure to comply with the required working capital for the payroll for 3 months;
- 2021-003: IPI’s failure to pay the Regulatory Fee for 2020;
- 2021-004: IPI’s failure to pay its License Fee due August 12th, 2021
During a regular meeting of the Commission, which took place on October 28th, the body’s Chairman Edward C. Deleon Guerrero shared that Imperial Pacific International’s decision to file responses signed by a non-lawyer pretty much equal non submitting a reply. He also said that the company’s failure to pay the required fee for a period longer than 12 hours is a breach of the Commision’s regulations. According to him, such a violation should be considered a major offense for each day unpaid, starting October 1st, 2021.
Still, the Commission decided to give the casino operator one more chance to provide suitable responses to the aforementioned enforcement actions. Imperial Pacific now has until November 15th, 2021 to file the responses and make sure they are signed by a lawyer.
The Gambling Company Faces a Fifth Complaint Filed in the CCC
The fifth complaint of the Commonwealth Casino Commission’s Executive Director claims that Imperial Pacific International failed to pay the full amount of the regulatory fee worth $3.15 million. The company was supposed to make the payment on or before October 1st, 2021. Mr. Yeom explained that the regulatory fee was adjusted on the basis of a 5% increase required by law.
According to the Executive Director of the CCC, the casino company has knowingly and intentionally breached the Commonwealth law by not making the due casino regulatory fee payment in whole or in part since October 1st, 2021.
The fifth complaint states that the Commonwealth suffered a great deal of harm as a result of the IPI’s failure to pay the aforementioned regulatory fee in the period through the filing of the complaint. Mr. Yeom alleges the company in multiple and repeated violations of laws and regulations, as well as in repeated violations of its contracts with the Commonwealth.
