At the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious, PH Resorts Group Holdings COO Jose Angel Sueiro dished out some Real Talk™ at the G2E Asia 2022 expo. His revelation? That the coronavirus pandemic has been a “great reminder” for casino operators and government regulators to “understand [their] local market.” Part of this, no doubt, is … Read more
As online gambling enthusiasts (and big fans of brick-and-mortar gambling when we can find the time for it), we have mixed feelings on various subjects having to do with gambling addiction, gambling withdrawals, self-exclusion, and the like. In general, we think that these are important issues, but we’ve also seen how they’re often misused or … Read more
Last week, we told you about the latest news regarding the restart of the 2021 PBA Governors’ Cup. Due to coronavirus concerns amid the outbreak of the so-called Omicron variant, the conference was suspended on December 26 after just two and a half weeks of play. Most teams managed to play a full five games … Read more
Aside from a few developments in the Opol casino drama, there’s nothing much to report on regarding legal gambling in the Philippines. On the sports betting side of things, there’s also not much happening, as the PBA Governors’ Cup is still suspended due to lockdowns resultant from the current COVID Omicron outbreak. Fortunately, there’s plenty … Read more
Although there are only 10 days left in 2021, the biggest news in the Philippine casino market is that the island nation’s brick-and-mortar IRs will be operating at just 50% capacity throughout the remainder of the year. Of course, it’s not just the gambling floors that will be so limited. The halved capacity applies also … Read more
The Philippines casino market is officially recovering. And no, we’re not talking about the country’s new iGaming initiatives, designed to stem the tide of coronavirus-related PAGCOR losses. After all, those will slowly work their way into the fabric of society, much like the best offshore Philippine casinos, online sports betting sites, and PH poker rooms … Read more
Slowly but surely, the land-based Philippine casino industry is opening back up. After suffering through more extended lockdowns (albeit not to the extent that they were closed during 2020), major Philippine IRs are now welcoming back in-person patrons. While the biggest operators had rolled out legal online iGaming to a limited clientele (rendering them largely … Read more
As in 2020, the coronavirus lockdowns in the Philippines have put a serious hurting on domestic casino revenues. That said, because the nation learned from the pandemic’s economic impact over the last 18 months, the financial downturn prompted by this year’s Metro Manila lockdowns has been markedly less dramatic. Last year, revenues compared year-over-year were … Read more
On the afternoon of May 28, amid ongoing coronavirus lockdowns and social distancing orders, three men were arrested in Cebu City for participating in an underground sabong derby. The trio, all residents of Purok 1, Nangka, were the only individuals that remained on the scene after a much larger crowd dispersed before police arrived to … Read more
POGOs have been controversial in the Philippines since their launch in 2016. These Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators are domestic businesses in the islands, and they exist almost entirely to give mainland Chinese citizens access to offshore gambling. Due to the ongoing Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, most Philippine businesses have been shuttered as part of the broad … Read more