Mississippi watchdog group seeks better enforcement of gaming laws

John Porretto

Wednesday, July 25, 2001 | 10:30 a.m.

JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi Gaming Commission Executive Director Chuck Patton dismissed a state watchdog group's report that the agency needs to do a better job of enforcing some regulations and documenting its business.

The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review, in a report made public Tuesday, said the Gaming Commission shows the agency's regulators have yet to complete full compliance reviews at 12 of the 30 state-regulated casinos.

In response, Patton said regulators have firm control over the state's 9-year-old casino industry. He said the agency has been used as a model for jurisdictions from as far away as New Zealand and South Africa.

"Of course, with additional resources, there are more controls that could be overlaid that would provide increased oversight," Patton said. "It's our opinion, however, that these controls would not be cost effective and would not provide sufficient improvement in the overall regulatory program."

Tuesday's review was a follow-up to a 1996 evaluation of the Gaming Commission, when PEER said the challenge for the agency was to avoid being too closely aligned with gambling interests.

The commission, PEER said in 1996, must demonstrate that it "exists to protect the general public, not to promote the industry which it regulates."

PEER Executive Director Max Arinder said Tuesday the commission has made strides in five years and the new report is not a "total indictment" of the agency.

"But there are mixed results -- certain areas where not all regulations are carried through or carried through with proper documentation," Arinder said. "We have a good gaming law and a well-structured regulatory body by statute, but this is serious business.

"We're not being critical just to be critical."

Patton said he wasn't clear on PEER's finding that regulators have not done complete compliance checks at 12 casinos, which the report did not name. He said he needed more information from PEER.

Patton said commission auditors frequently examine specific business practices at casinos across the state. They might inspect the cash cage at one place, then do the same at several others.

"We're doing the audits as quickly as we can in the areas that concern us," Patton said. "But there seems to be some confusion about how we're doing them."

In its nearly 30 recommendations, PEER said the commission should:

* Create an operating manual for the compliance division that includes policies for casino auditing.

* Document its tests on software and computer chips used in gambling machines.

* Determine how many vehicles the commission needs for agency work and establish a motor pool for staff members.

Patton said the agency is studying how and when employees use the commission's 60 vehicles. He said some agents who are on call at odd hours need a state vehicle at home.

"Most law enforcement agencies allow people to bring vehicles home," he said.