The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) will not allow offices at its accredited buildings across Metro Manila and the rest of the nation to be used by online gambling operators, local media has reported.
PEZA is charged with the promotion of the establishment of economic zones in the Southeast Asian country, thus encouraging international investment.
PEZA Director General Charito Plaza has told local media that the agency’s board of directors decided that no online gambling activities, even ones representing technical support, will be allowed in buildings accredited by PEZA.
Ms. Plaza was appointed as Director General of the government agency last fall. She had been one of the authors of the Philippines’ Special Economic Zones Law, under which PEZA had been established.
According to Ms. Plaza, there are over 100 online gambling operations in Metro Manila at present and those are mostly based in PEZA-accredited buildings. The official has further pointed out that the greater part of those operators are either Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport or Cagayan Economic Zone Authority locators and have been operating in the capital region while their permanent facilities are under development.
It also seems that their business is licensed by PAGCOR, the Philippine gambling regulator. Despite the PAGCOR authorization, Ms. Plaza has said that she and her colleagues do not want PEZA to be involved in any iGaming-related scandals.
Online gambling has become a bit of a controversial topic in the Philippines since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office last summer. The country’s top official vowed to destroy iGaming as a major driver of social ills. It was not long after the beginning of his tenure when the Philippine President unleashed an unprecedented crackdown on the provision of online gambling services within the country’s borders.
Eventually, he softened his stance a bit to allow iGaming companies to base their operations in the Philippines. However, those were not allowed to target potential Philippine players. As a result, 35 Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) licenses were granted by PAGCOR last year. The gambling regulator has said that more interested parties will receive licenses in the months to come, as the country is seeking for means to reach the PHP65-billion revenue target it has put before itself for 2017.
The announcement about PEZA closing its accredited offices for online gambling comes shortly after a report by local real estate company Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) was published, the results of which showed that the iGaming industry is the second biggest office space occupier in the country. The business process outsourcing sector is the only one ahead, according to the report.
LPC also pointed out that online gambling will increase demand for office space this year, taking up between 4.3 million and 5.3 million square feet.
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