Casino Control Commission Proposes Casino Fee and Licensing Changes

The V.I. Casino Control Commission approved a number of amendments to casino regulations Thursday, including licensing and applications fees, written over the last several years. After a process of back and forth approvals by the governor and lieutenant governor, the new regulations will supplement the V.I. Casino Control Act of 1995. All of the amendments, some going as far back as 2015, were reviewed by the two-member board before being approved Thursday, according to Usie R. Richards, vice chairman of the board. After approval by Casino Control Commission Chairman Marvin Pickering and Richards, the amendments will be forwarded to the Department of Justice to be reviewed for Lt. Gov. Tregenza Roach and then sent to Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. for certification. After that, the lieutenant governor will also approve and sign them and the new regulations will be “officially promulgated.”

Existing fees will be included in the V.I. Casino Laws and Regulations and new fees will be added for a new section of the approved hotel rules. In addition to the three current classes of hotels, a Class IV will include hotel/casinos opened in an Enterprise Zone, defined by the Economic Development Authority. Fees for the Class IV license will be $80,000, which is substantially less than the $100,000 in fees for a Class III hotel’s initial license and $60,000 instead of $80,000 for two years. Also, an Enterprise Zone casino will be required to have 75 sleeping units and a 400-square-foot banquet facility. A Class III facility is required to build 150-199 rooms and a 5,000-square-foot banquet room.

Similarly, a government entity casino is a new Class IV designation with an $80,000 licensing fee for the first 5,000 square feet of floor space and $50,000 for each additional 5,000 square feet. Banquet facilities were not addressed in the amendments. What government entity would be operating a casino was not discussed. The V.I. government, through the Public Finance Authority, owns the Kings Alley Hotel in Christiansted. There were plans for a casino adjacent to that hotel 20 years ago, prior to the PFA acquiring the hotel through foreclosure. In May, the PFA voted to start the process of selling or leasing the Kings Alley Hotel and the adjacent vacant lot.