This past Tuesday, Hong Kong’s Suncity Holdings Group released plans to open a casino/resort and enter the growing Philippine gambling market.
Suncity has struck a deal to build a casino/resort in the Entertainment district of Manila. Suncity executives announced that they had acquired a majority stake in Suntrust home developers Inc. to build the resort in the Philippines.
Entertainment city (E-city) is the Philippine version of Las Vegas or China’s Macau. When E-city first broke ground, there was only one casino in the area Solaire Resort & Casino. Now there are a total of four, with another currently being erected. Each of the casinos that move into E-City is required by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to spend at least $1 billion on their facility.
Outside of Macau, Manila is the most significant gambling region in southeast Asia. The Philippine casino industry has grown rapidly over the past ten years and has started attracting tourists from all over southeast Asia.
Andrew Lo, the executive director at Suncity, told reporters that they chose E-City, Manila, because of its scale. There are currently three international brands, new facilities, and an airport in close proximity to E-city.
Suntrust representatives said it signed a deal to develop and exclusively operate the main hotel casino portion. Also, the integrated casino resort will house over 400 rooms, about 400 gaming tables, and approximately 1,200 slot machines.
The casino/resort is expected to start operations in 2023.
In addition to the casinos in E-city, residents of the island country can legally access online casinos from offshore sites that are licensed by a legitimate governing agency. Online casinos offer the same traditional casino games you find in the local casinos but at the player’s convenience. You can also find online sports betting and online poker options under one user account.