A new bill has been introduced that maintains allowances for gaming or gambling facilities during village fiestas but limits these activities to the legal boundaries of the village hosting the fiesta.

Sen. Michael San Nicolas, the chairman of the legislative committee on rules and the bill's author, said the measure Bill 29-34 was meant to close a legal loophole that essentially allowed for the year-round operation of the casino facility in Tiyan, which is also used during the annual Liberation Carnival.

Village mayors can obtain a permit to conduct gaming activities during fiestas, but the law does not specify that such activities be confined to that village, San Nicolas said.

In early February, Jose Cruz, president of the anti-gambling group Linala Sin Casino, drew attention to the use of the Tiyan casino facility by several other villages during the latter part of 2016. Cruz, a former Guam Education Board member, stated that he believed there was a lack of accountability on how often gambling occurred at the casino and recommended that gambling events be held at the villages so that mayors can monitor the activities while giving residents the opportunity to"self-police their community."

Agana Heights Mayor and Mayors' Council of Guam (MCOG) President Paul McDonald said theTiyan facility was a convenient and cost-saving location for gambling activities. Hosting these events within the respective villages would call for the designation of certain areas, which may not be available, leaving mayors to possibly construct their own village venues for the occasional gambling event.

At over $2,000 per event, proceeds were minimal, according to McDonald, and were relegated back to the village hosting the gambling activity.

Not a 'crutch' for gambling

However, after an initial meeting with San Nicolas to talk about issues pertaining to the MCOG, the group's executive leadership appears to have placed its backing behind Bill 29.

"We discussed how we wanted to make sure that the village fiestas weren't being viewed as a crutch to run a year-round casino operation in Tiyan, and they agreed that that's not the perception they want to put out there," San Nicolas said.

"In consultation with them, we introduced this bill to make sure that any fiesta-related activities are taking place within the respective villages."

San Nicolas said he had not yet spoken to mayors outside the executive team about the bill.

McDonald said he felt the concerns were overblown and that by utilizing the Tiyan facility, the mayors believed they were limiting the exposure to gambling activities. However, he said he agreed with limiting such activities to the specific villages. The gaming activities had only occurred last year, McDonald added. Even without the use of the facility, mayors would try to find ways to raise funds for their villages, he said.

The bill is expected to be discussed today during a regular MCOG meeting.

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New bill limits gambling activities to villages - The Guam Daily Post (press release) (registration)