PH to revive online gambling sector through online casinos, e-cockfights
Threats of higher taxation, a recent bribery scandal, and the closure of national borders caused the POGOs to leave the Philippines. To counter this, Manila’s gaming regulators are paving the way for the country’s conventional casinos and integrated resorts to start taking online bets, including from locals.
According to Andrea Domingo, chair and CEO of industry regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), Bloomberry Resorts’ $1.2 billion Solaire and another smaller casino have already been given permission to offer online betting. Two other multibillion-dollar casinos, City of Dreams Manila and Okada Manila, have sought approval to do the same.
In November, PAGCOR also granted a unit of Philippine listed-DFNN a license to “offer [a] remote gaming platform” that allows “a certain part of gaming [to] take place in the privacy of the client’s own home.”
