The Palm Spring Gaming is highly mentioned in the General Auditing Commission’s (GAC) Reports for defrauding the Government of Liberia thereby creating grounds for revoking of its operational license.The unwholesome deportment by the Palm Spring management since 2016 to 2019 are sufficient grounds to guarantee a criminal prosecution for the entity by the Ministry of Justice.
According to the level of violations carried out by the Palm Spring, many believed that allowing this gaming entity to operate gives an unsavory impression that the foreign-owned betting entity is being given preferential treatment.
The Palm Spring Gaming is said to be defiant in displaying any evidence of its Board’s approval which one could deduce that if the management had obtained its license to operate a sport betting company (Gobet) and casino gaming, it is without documentary evidence thereby depriving the Government of Liberia of its needed revenue with no intent to remedy the situation.
The GAC report on the National Lottery Authority (NLA), copies in possession of this paper, covering the period of July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017; July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018 and from July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019 respectively, state that the Palm Spring Gaming has failed to settle its financial obligations totaling US$ 362, 700.
There has been no document to-date to serve as evidence that the Palm Spring Gaming has complied with the GAC’s demand for all of its violations which are defiant of the Commission’s mandate while at the same time, its casino is being allowed to operate unlawfully while other casinos in the country are adhering to the rules of the game.
In the audit conducted between mid-2016 to mid-2017, the Palm Spring Gaming was required to pay US$ 120, 000 as per the NLA regulation but the GAC requested the management to pay US$68, 450 only for the period under review and forward the receipt evidencing the payment.
The report also found the Palm Spring Gaming liable for operating a sport betting company and casino gaming without documentary evidence of meeting the required investment portfolio and demonstrated to have the financial capacity to cover its liabilities.
Recommending a strong punitive action against Palm Spring Gaming, the GAC findings further contained observations and conclusions in the audit report of June 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018 and charged the gaming entity for failure to provide copies of the bank statements to confirm the required bank balance equivalent to or greater than 25 percent of the required US$ 500, 000 and US$ 750, 000 business investment portfolio and financial capacity.
The GAC then ordered the Palm Spring Gaming to settle the unpaid fee of US$ 90, 400 within 30 days after the issuance of the audit report and submit receipt of payment and urged the NLA Board to initiate a review process of license issued to Palm Spring Resort to ensure full compliance with the NLA Regulations.
It is however, this same Palm Spring Resort that having delayed the payment of its employees’ salary, the staffers went on the rampage in protest while some filed a lawsuit against the management for bad labor practice; a trial which outcomes are still pending before the Debt Court in Liberia.