Operator News
Philippines – PAGCOR suggests Boracay could be back on the cards
By Phil - 9 July 2018
Alfredo Lim, PAGCOR President and Chief Operating Officer, has said that the five license applications that had been received before a suspension, including Galaxy Entertainment’s plans for a casino in Boracay, will still be processed.
The other four licenses include one for a casino in Clark from Udenna Corp; a casino in Masbate in Luzon from Century Golden, a casino in Cavite promoted by Prime Asset Ventures in Cavite and a casino in Davao from EDC Ventures.
The blueprint for a casino on the island of Boracay by Galaxy Entertainment and its partner Leisure and Resorts World Corp. grabbed headlines when it was spectacularly halted by President Duerte in January in a move to protect existing casinos and prevent oversupply.
Ben Lee, managing partner at iGamix, told Macau News Agency (MNA), said: “We were previously led to believe by the former PAGCOR administrations that the private casino operators would be restricted to just Manila Bay, a designated special or a Presidential Economic Zone.”
Casinos in the Philippines generated GGR of US$3.3bn in 2017, up 12 per cent.
