Entertainment City IRs Close Again Due To Resurgent Coronavirus Strain

okada manila casino pictured during daytime

After a disastrous 2020, the Philippine gambling industry has been approaching the new year with incredible enthusiasm. Entertainment City construction projects have resumed, fresh resort casino investments are pouring in, and the market looks poised to pick up where it left off in 2019. After all, before COVID, the Philippines was fast becoming the number-one …

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Domestic Online Gambling Could Be Headed To The Philippines

poker chips, dice, and cards on a laptop computer keyboard signifying online gambling

The legal online gambling industry in the Philippines has been limited to POGOs for non-residents and offshore betting sites for those living in the islands. That could be about to change. After 2020 was a total wash – or, rather, a total dousing – for Philippine brick-and-mortar casinos in the Metro Manila area, PAGCOR – …

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Amid Casino Closures, Philippine Government Cracks Down On Online Gambling

hostess at a live casino table at a pogo site

While the Philippines is home to one of the largest offshore gambling enterprises on the planet, its POGOs are closed to actual residents of the islands. This is not a great point of contention for local gamblers, at least under normal conditions. However, with the Philippines entering its fifth month of Metro Manila coronavirus lockdowns, …

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Coronavirus Shuts Down PAGCOR Retail Gambling, POGOs Still Operational

coronavirus pagcor casino closures 2020

As of right now, most retail gambling in the Philippines has been temporarily suspended. Per the government’s overarching coronavirus response, PAGCOR – the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation – has shuttered all operations in the National Capital Region, or NCR. This includes all 16 NCR cities, and all forms of retail gambling have been put …

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President Duterte Cites No Proof Of Allegations Against POGO Licensees

POGO's

Ever since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in August of 2019, the Chinese President has pushed for online gambling reform in the Philippines. Xi asked President Duterte to suspend the PAGCOR Philippine Offshore Gambling Operator’s (POGO) licenses that he claims targets, Chinese bettors. After the meeting, President Duterte told media …

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Barilin ko kayo nang de bombo – POGO Crackdown

Rodrigo Duterte aiming a gun

Over the span of the last few months, the Philippine government has started cracking down on illegal gambling operators working inside of the Philippines.  In August of 2019, President Duterte met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss foreign policy when the topic of offshore gambling came up. In China, online gambling is illegal, but …

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Two Philippine Cops Questioned For Gambling And Drinking

Police arrested

In Tuguegarao, Philippines, two cops are facing legal trouble after they were allegedly caught drinking and gambling in Sta. Ana, this past weekend. Col. Ignacio Cumigad told reporters that Sgt. Fidel Aquio Jr. was caught at a cockfight arena in Barangay and that Cpl. Melvic Cris de Castro was caught abandoning his post when he …

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Hong Kong’s Suncity Group Is Opening A Casino In E-City Manila

Andrew Lo - Suncity

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 …

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POGO Tax Could Go Up 5%

POGO Tax

A lawmaker in the Philippines recently proposing a new 5% tax increase for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) license holders. The proposed tax increase would add a 5% tax on revenue generated from offshore gaming.  Representative Joey Salceda filled the bill in the PH House of Representatives on Wednesday, October 23rd, 2019. The bill seeks …

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PAGCOR Not Looking To Benefit From Cambodia Online Gambling Shutdown

Andrea Domingo PAGCOR

While speaking to the media during a press conference, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) chairman Andrea Domingo said the Philippines are not looking to benefit from the online gambling ban in Cambodia.  After receiving pressure from China, the Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen decided the country would ban all online gambling operators by …

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