After months of intrigue about whether or not Sara Duterte-Carpio would run for Philippine President in 2022, the real story came and went without much fanfare. In short, no, she won’t be running for the nation’s highest office. However, what we missed – presumably because we never saw the election betting odds at the top … Read more
Well, that was anticlimactic. After a finals matchup that looked somewhat promising, the 2021 Philippine Cup championship turned out to be fairly lopsided. Top-seed TNT Tropang Giga – the favorite at nearly all online Philippine sportsbooks – won the series 4-1, defeating the three-seed Magnolia Hotshots convincingly. The game results were as follows: Game 1: … Read more
In the Philippines, there are a host of things to bet on. The domestic market is growing apace despite coronavirus lockdowns, new integrated resorts in Boracay have been approved, PIGOs are on their way to mainstream acceptance and access, and even MegaSportsWorld is expanding their operations. Plus, if none of those avenues works for you, … Read more
This past weekend, in what may have been his final fight, Manny Pacquiao lost a decision to welterweight WBA (Super) champion Yordenis Ugas. Despite being a -400 favorite at most of the top online Philippines sportsbooks, Pacquiao finished behind on all three cards, 115-113, 116-112, and 116-12. Meanwhile, Ugas bettors earned a decent payday at … Read more
Last Sunday, Philippines Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon suggested that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) should be sold off to create revenue to combat the spread of the Coronavirus. The request from Drilon demonstrates how dire the COVID-19 situation is in the Philippines, as the entity ranks third behind revenue and customs on … Read more
This week, the Chinese government announced a new initiative aimed at policing the country’s illegal gambling market. This is, at least publicly, something of a 180 from the nation’s stance in the last several months, where it implored the Duterte Administration to bar all online gaming in the Philippines. With Duterte et al. having none … Read more
It’s been a reasonably quiet week in the Philippines gambling market, for a change. However, thanks to the ongoing row between China and the Philippines due to the latter’s controversial POGO industry, developments in competing markets – especially those in China – are of much interest to Filipino casino insiders. Just this week, the China … Read more
While the Philippines have been a constant thorn in the side of China through the former’s controversial POGO industry, Cambodia has received less fanfare for being largely the same thing. Over the past several years, both Southeast Asian nations have built up domestic gambling markets that largely target mainland Chinese players, much to Beijing’s chagrin. … Read more
The Philippine gambling industry can’t seem to catch a break. Despite record profits and a concerted effort to crack down on tax-dodging POGOs and commercial brick-and-mortar casinos, critics are still pushing the narrative that the industry is a magnet for fraudsters and violent criminals. The South China Morning Post’s most recent report on the subject … Read more
For the domestic gambling industry, it’s been an interesting couple of weeks in the Philippines. There are three major stories of note concerning the gaming landscape in the island nation, with some good news and some bad news. The Good Starting off with the good news, PAGCOR – the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation – … Read more