Cagayan Special Economic Zone And Freeport

The Cagayan Special Economic Zone & Freeport is a special zone drafted up to promote economic development in the northeastern part of the Philippines known as the Cagayan Valley. The valley is made up of 5 provinces and four major cities and occupies about 1/3 of the big island of Luzon. The area can be described as remote but due to its global positioning, the country has some big development plans for the Cagayan Special Economic Zone & Freeport.

The Cagayan-Freeport region is determined to be a tourist destination and intends to use domestic legal gambling options such as casinos and sports betting options as the main attraction. For now, most of the valley is centered around the Cagayan river, the countries largest river.

First Cagayan Resort And Leisure Corporation

The First Cagayan Resort and Leisure Corporation (FCRLC) was created by the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) for several reasons but mainly to regulate and monitor interactive games on behalf of CEZA and issue licenses to offshore gambling operators and entities operating inside the Cagayan zone to generate money for the Cagayan Valley. They also check applicants for criminal records and assure that no criminal activities occur under their licensing regime.

They are also used to make sure records are kept and available for review within a five-year period and monitor payouts. Other than gambling licenses, they are also in charge of setting up network operation hubs, internet providers, and telecommunication services.

CEZA

The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) is a government controlled corporation created by Republic Act 7922 enacted in 1995. The act gave them executive power over the Cagayan-Freeport economic zone and mandated them to develop and focus on sustaining a self-sufficient industrial, commercial, financial and recreational industry for the Cagayan Valley. Being that the area is very remote, and the landscape is made up of several mountains regions and valleys, the above tasks are somewhat unrealistic but there are some positives too.

The area is also in the center for ASEAN trade and in-route with how the ASEAN nations trade with the Western United States. One of the current tasks the FCRLC is developing is the airport with hopes that it can be the first step to generate tourism. CEZA and the FCRLC also have plans for casinos, resorts, restaurants, and even a theme park.

Cagayan Developments

As mentioned above the airport is first on CEZA’s list. The airport is almost complete but to really attract tourism other necessities must be addressed. For one there are not a lot of roads. CEZA plans to build more roads that lead to areas around the beaches and to provide more rural routes for trade and transportation. The water system also has to be further developed. Since most of the region is remote commercial water systems are limited at best. CEZA wants to develop a bigger and better water system so that they can provide basic necessities for hotels and restaurants.

They also need to expand the power grid and develop more telecommunication facilities vital for hotels and for tourism to flourish. Lastly, CEZA is in the process of developing a shipyard. They intend to turn the Cagayan Valley into a trading mecca since it is strategically located near Hong Kong, China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. In 2015 the Cagayan Valley had 3.5 million residents most of which live in the four big towns or along the river.

Offshore Gaming Licenses

Right now offshore gaming licensing is the focus for revenue until some of the other projects are completed. The First Cagayan Resort and Leisure Corporation (FCRLC) is the master licensor for CEZA. They currently offer 3 different types of licensing to offshore gambling houses: casino, sports betting, and lottery. Applicants must operate within the Cagayan economic zone and complete an application process to obtain a license. It usually takes about 30 days after all documents have been submitted and the $200.00 USD annual registration fee is collected.

The license comes with strict rules and regulations and any company or enterprise that breaks the FCRLC rules and regulations will be subject to strict fines and will have their licensed revoked. Fines could reach up to $40,000 USD. One of the main points of the rules and regulations is that Philippine licensed online casinos, sportsbooks and lotteries cannot offer their services to Filipino residents. Our guide to Philippine legal online gambling options is a great place to find online casinos, sportsbooks and more that are legal and will accept Philippine registrations.

Can Residents Of The Cagayan Special Economic Zone Legally Gamble Online?

Yes, there is no wordage in any of the Philippine gambling laws that say online gambling from offshore sites is illegal. Based on the current laws, Filipinos can enjoy Philippine legal online casinos, sports betting, horse betting, online poker and more if the destinations at which they engage are licensed and regulated outside of the Philippines islands. However online gambling sites based or licensed in the Philippines are off limits to Filipino’s. Presidential Decree 1602 defines illegal gambling and imposes penalties for those that play illegal games. Executive Order No. 13 was recently enacted to be tougher on illegal gambling operators. It makes it clear that online operators based in the Philippines are to only allow offshore players.

How POGO Affects Cagayan Gaming Licenses

Recently the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) started issuing a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) license. POGO licenses extend throughout all the Philippines and thus has taken away some of the FCRLC licenses. POGO issued 50 licenses for the first year, but the response was so great that they already issued 42 licenses and still have over 44 pending license applications. Jose Maria Ponce administrator of CEZA recently told industry executives at the ASEAN gaming summit that he hopes to have all Philippine licenses under one jurisdiction soon. He believes that the POGO licenses have hurt CEZA licenses by causing their license holders to speculate if they will be out of business soon. Currently, CEZA has about 100 Cagayan companies holding licenses.

Resources:

First Cagayan Resort & Leisure Corporation (FCRLC)
Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA)