Grennig Gambling Commission
One of Kalidor the Brave's most enduring acts as Prince of Grennig was to establish this governmental agency. In truth, his daughter Colleen Braveheart managed most of the details around its creation but the great Prince, in his old age, was the one who took a look at the gambling that ran rampant in the taverns and inns around Grennig's harbor and saw not a blight upon society but instead an opportunity for both the crown and the people of the city to generate revenue.
Colleen took this vision and determined that in order to achieve these goals, the Commission needed two distinct charges. First, the crown must get its share. This seemed both obvious and simple to the princess, but execution proved more challenging. She established a base tax rate of 10% of all gambling profits. The Commission, however, had trouble determining from whom to collect taxes and given the fluidity of coin in their business, how many profits each had. This led to the creation of two sub-commissions - one on licensing and one on auditing. Licensing is simply the registration, for a small fee, of each gambling establishment. Unlicensed establishments are shut down upon discovery by the Shore Patrol and their owners dealt with harshly. Auditing includes a legion of mathematicians that review the income and expenses of each establishment to determine the ammount of taxes owed. the two groups work hand in glove, as well. Part of the licensing process in ensuring that each establishment has a process in place to manage its finances.
Secondly, they must ensure that all gambling was fair. Games marred by cheating and intimidation may benefit the proprietors of gaming establishments in the short run, but they undermined confidence in the system in the long haul and reduced opportunity. Monitoring gambling proved challenging. At first the commission relied on mystery gamblers - agents that patrolled the various gambling houses to observe and look out for signs of cheating. Next, she tired to hire magi to help monitor events. Unfortunately, magi proved both expensive and unreliable. Finally, Colleen approached a priestess of Kayla to ask her advice. As advocates of luck and chance, the priesthood abhorred weighted dice, marked cards, and other sorts of fixed games. They agreed to help monitor in exchange for something that, on the small Grennig Peninsula was quite rare - real estate. The priesthood proved adept at monitoring the games and do so today, though their methods are secretive. They also turned their real estate into the Grand Casino which serves as both a home to their faith and Grennig's most exclusive - and profitable - gambling house that, as a place of worship, is exempt from the 10% tax on profits.
Founding Date
478 AC
Type
Governmental, Department
Parent Organization
Location