and sports betting. Te service provider is to be referred to as a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO).
An application for such offshore gaming licences is US$50,000 for an e-casino licence and US$40,000 for a sports betting permit. Once approved the applicant then has to pay $200,000 for an e-casino licence and $150,000 for sports betting licence.
Te Philippines also recently set up the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) where the First Cagayan Leisure and Resort Corporation licences Asian online operators who by law can’t take bets from Philippine customers.
WILD CARD - DUTERTE ‘HARRY’ On December 23, 2016, President Duterte threw
another hand grenade into the online gaming debate by ordering the closure of “all online gaming operations” in the Philippines. Since taking office in June, the populist President has vowed to clamp down on online gaming as part of his initial policy concerns.
Rodrigo Duterte stated: “I am ordering the closure of all online gaming [companies] – all of them – they have no use.” Tis follows a tougher stance than in August when he
remarked that online gaming could resume once a system is implemented to ensure taxes are properly collected and under the enforcement of strict regulations.
Te President cited corruption as a principle concern as well as the government not receiving taxes from online gaming. Locals are not permitted to bet online, therefore, all online gaming in the country is outbound, all provided by offshore firms, many with no links to the Philippines.
A prevalent gray market has been China and helping to prevent operators targeting Chinese players will help positive relations between the countries.
Te day after the President’s outburst (which came shortly after Duterte’s revelation that he’d personally thrown a criminal from a helicopter in his crime-fighting days), PAGCOR moved swiftly to clarify the position of the government. PAGCOR chair, Andrea Domingo, said that only unlicensed online gaming companies would be covered by President Duterte’s closure order. Domingo also said all applications for online gaming would go through PAGCOR.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said
Duterte might only be referring to online gaming firms that violated the law when he announced that he would like online gambling operations shut down.
Aguirre cited the case of Chinese gaming operator Jack Lam and other “outright” violators as examples of those whose companies must be closed. Others that are complying with PAGCOR regulations “have nothing to fear,” he said.
Aguirre also said Duterte was set to sign an executive order appointing him as head of the Online Task Force intended to police online gambling activities in the country. Te EO will cover the extent of authority and power of the task force.
While PAGCOR moved quickly to calm online operator and investor fears over the President’s most recent inflammatory comments (the ones about online gaming as opposed to the more Batman-like ones), the volatile political landscape and ever present corruption, as demonstrated in the recent closure of the Fontana Leisure Parks & Casino in Clark Field, epitomises that of a high-risk market with innumerable opportunities, but also massive potential for disaster.
NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE /
247.COM P75
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148