Kilmartin Proposes Oversight for Casinos
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Attorney General Peter Kilmartin has submitted legislation that would empower the State Lottery to oversee and regulation casino gaming, should voters approve it in the future.
“It is imperative that if Rhode Island is going to expand to full scale casino gaming that appropriate regulation and oversight be established,” said Attorney General Kilmartin. “For Rhode Islanders to have confidence that casino gaming will be conducted with integrity and in a lawful way, the State must act to provide necessary protections and stringent oversight before the expansion takes place.”
Under his proposal, the Lottery could regulate all aspects of casino gaming, including: setting criteria for and granting licenses, establishing standards for facilities and equipment, and investigating violations. It could also revoke, suspend, or restrict licenses and permits and institute fines and penalties.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTHis bill would also transfers regulatory authority over racing from the Department of Business Regulation to the Lottery Division.
Says bill would save taxpayers money
“Providing the Lottery control of casino gaming is a natural evolution of authority and regulation and promotes government efficiency. It mandates that the experts in gaming and racing oversight be housed in one location, providing for consistent regulation,” added Kilmartin. “This would also have a positive fiscal impact on taxpayers seeing this Act grants the authority to the Lottery, not create a separate gaming commission with duplicative roles and costs.”
The legislation would also create a Division of Gaming Enforcement within the Office of Attorney General, which Kilmartin said would ensure that gambling is done “honestly, competitively and free from criminal and corruptive elements.”
If you valued this article, please LIKE GoLocalProv.com on Facebook by clicking HERE.
Related Articles
- Lynch Calls on Lawmakers to Override Casino Veto
- MA vs RI Casino Wars Heat Up
- Attorney General Proposes Casino Commission
- Casino Gambling: Is 2012 The Year?
- Governor Doesn’t Want to Gamble with Casino Expansion
- Kilmartin Calls for Oversight of Casino Gambling