The Philippines to pass tax law for land-based offshore gambling operations. POGOs have effectively evaded taxes for several years, many illegally employing overseas workers. Reopenings have been slow, as many POGOs relocate due to COVID restrictions. The Philippine government is quickly working to pass legislation that would effectively tax and regulate Philippine Offshore Gambling Operations … Read more
City of Baguio lawmakers propose legal online bingo, e-gaming The new market would help recoup losses from COVID-19 Local pushback could complicate the initiative Over the last several months, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has slowly rolled out a system whereby select Manila IRs would be allowed to offer iGaming titles to their … Read more
PIGOs are slowly replacing POGOs in the Philippines Three Metro Manila casinos have already received PIGO licenses For now, PIGO access is limited to select IR VIP members As the coronavirus lockdowns continue unabated in Metro Manila, the Philippine Amusement And Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has – to date – granted a total of three PIGO … Read more
POGO operations have been cut nearly in half by COVID-19 Related gambling revenue is expected to fall by 50% to PHP 16 billion PIGOs aren’t yet ready to pick up the slack In the Philippines casino industry, the number of POGOs – or Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators – is fairly fluid, with estimates ranging from … Read more
In the Philippines, PBA season is one of the most exciting times of the year. The popular professional basketball league is the highest level of the sport in the Islands, and basketball is arguably the country’s favorite team sport. Were it not for sabong (which is about to get a newfound injection of interest domestically … Read more
With lockdowns once again affecting the domestic Philippines casino market, there’s not a tremendous amount of market news to share currently. However, casino gambling is just one aspect of the wider industry, and sports betting – thanks to the handful of legal offshore Philippines sportsbooks serving residents of the islands – is starting to pick … Read more
As the 2020 coronavirus pandemic finally abated in the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte lifted some of the lockdowns that previously caused the temporary closures of Metro Manila’s lucrative Entertainment City integrated resort casinos. Unfortunately, the Duterte administration this week reinitiated area casino lockdowns as COVID cases began to spike once more. Reports indicate that many … Read more
A few interesting things happened for the Philippines gambling industry during the otherwise disastrous 2020. While commercial gambling houses saw their earnings virtually wiped out, the pandemic led to a functional reset and reimagining of the entire market. That said, the traditional aspects of Entertainment City brick-and-mortar resort casinos are still going to be heavily … Read more
2021 has gotten off to a somewhat slow start for the Philippines gambling market. Sure, there are various developments to be excited about, like the slow rollout of domestic online gambling, the recent congressional approval of online cockfighting (e-Sabong), and the general fact that the casino industry in Manila appears to be weathering the COVID … Read more
2020 was a rough year for everyone, and no industry was hit harder than the Philippines brick-and-mortar gambling market. And while the Chinese coronavirus pandemic did spur congressional action on regulating online cockfighting (e-Sabong) and prompted the government to go forward with online gambling plans for several Entertainment City casino venues, the road to recovery … Read more