Seemingly week to week, the gambling situation in the Philippines appears to change. Indeed, the politics of POGOs (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators) and local gaming venues have lately been the biggest roller coaster in the country. For many of the parties involved, of course, the current landscape has been far from an amusement park. After … Read more
The current state of gambling in the Philippines – in all its guises – continues to be problematic, according to various interested parties in government and the private sector. In the midst of an ongoing row with China over Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), the island nation also has the matter of industry compliance to … Read more
Despite ongoing disagreements with Beijing and a local enforcement initiative against tax-dodging Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), the Philippines seem to be moving full speed ahead in embracing the burgeoning online gambling industry. From December 3-4, Manila will be hosting the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia. The scheduled venue for the convention is the Manila … Read more
Two weeks ago, China formally requested that the Philippine government put an end to the country’s online gambling industry. However, without tying the request to meaningful economic incentives of any kind, Beijing’s offer wasn’t exactly one that Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte couldn’t refuse. So he refused it. On Wednesday, Duterte explained to the media – … Read more
In the Philippines, online casinos are legally authorized, but their services are targeted almost exclusively at the offshore Chinese market. Now, China is asking the Philippine government to put a stop to the profitable industry. Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, or POGOs, were launched in 2016 under the umbrella of PAGCOR, the Philippine Amusement and … Read more
On Wednesday August 7th, the Chinese Embassy in Manila released a statement concerning online gambling in mainland China. The statement read: “Any form of gambling by Chinese citizens, including online gambling, gambling overseas, and opening casinos overseas to attract citizens of China as primary customers, is illegal.” This statement was citing Chinese law regarding online … Read more
After Vice Mayor of Quezon City attempted to restrict casino gaming, gambling regulator PAGCOR stepped in. Vice Mayor of Quezon City Joy Belmonte attempted to enact an ordinance which would charge residents a fee of PHP1,500 to enter a soon to be built casino within the city, as well as, fees for online gaming. However, … Read more
The Philippines is expected to outpace Macau with its casino gaming industry according to financial analysts. In the first quarter of 2019, the casino sector in the Philippines produced PHP52.52 billion in gross gaming revenue. PAGCOR released this quarterly revenue result but strangely did not include a comparison to previous year results or data. PAGCOR, … Read more
After President Duterte threw in the towel regarding his strong stance against gambling, casino projects are back on track – mostly. The Emerald Resort and Casino in Mactan, Cebu and proposed Clark Resort by PH Resort Group will likely continue development now that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has halted his firm anti-gambling stance. Filinvest is … Read more
After years of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s harsh stance on gambling, it seems the politician has had a change of heart – conveniently just before the elections. The usually fiery Philippine President has announced a change in policy towards gambling. In a recent statement, the President declared during a campaign on May 11th, 2019 that … Read more