The state Gaming Commission has softened its requirement that the subcontractors that casino vendors hire automatically submit to criminal background checks, a change the commission says will streamline permitting but gaming critics fear will add a layer of secrecy.
The commission voted yesterday to change its regulation that originally required casino vendors to submit "Subcontractor Identification Forms" before the vendors are licensed to do work for casinos. Now, subcontractors will only have to submit the forms if specifically targeted by the commission's Investigations and Enforcement Bureau.
The identification forms require subcontractors to list, among other things, who owns them, and to authorize courts, law enforcement agencies, probation departments, banks and other institutions to release any information about them that the commission requests.
Catherine Blue, the commission's general counsel, said the need for the change became apparent as the panel has begun processing vendors looking to work on an approved slots parlor in Plainville and an MGM casino in Springfield.
"We have a better understanding of what we need to see in certain situations, and have a better understanding how to make the process streamlined and how to make it work better," Blue said.
Subcontractors typically hire the actual workers who perform on-the-ground tasks on behalf of vendors. According to regulations, a factor the commission can weigh in deciding to permit a vendor to do work for a casino is the "integrity, honesty and good character of any subcontractor."
John Ribeiro, chairman of the Repeal the Casino Deal campaign that is working to overturn the state's casino law in November, said he's worried the change will embolden vendors — who could provide a casino everything from security to cleaning to maintenance services — to hire questionable subcontractors because they won't be subject to the same automatic disclosure requirements as mainline casino employees.
"They can always hire subcontractors to get around the regulations," Ribeiro said. "I think if you're going to regulate anything, I think you should be making sure that we don't have criminals working at the casinos. I think that would be a basic regulation that you'd want to enforce."
Blue said the change creates no greater risk of a criminal element in casinos because the IEB retains the right to demand background information and authorization.
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