Up until recently, the massive land-based gambling expansion currently taking place in the Philippines has been the most widely discussed topic when it came to the country’s gambling industry. However, since the Philippines’ newly elected President came into office, the focus on the Entertainment City, the two integrated casino resorts that have already opened doors as part of the multi-billion Manila-based complex, and the two other such resorts that are to be launched by the decade’s end has been averted to another hot topic.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte took on his post earlier this year and since the very beginning of his tenure declared war on what he considered some of society’s most pressing issues, starting with drug trafficking. Not long after, online gambling has become another area to be targeted by the country’s top official in a bid to limit addictive activities among residents, although his crackdown on iGaming is not half as terrifying as his hunt for drug-related wrongdoers.
Online gambling, and gambling as a whole, can indeed be an addictive and dangerous activity, if not promoted, conducted, and regulated in a proper manner and, from a gambling customer’s point of view, if not abstained from when necessary. However, it is an indisputable fact that iGaming could be a flourishing industry that, among other things, can bring substantial and much-needed tax revenue to governments, particularly given that we live in an era when digital is considered good, highly popular, and sometimes outspokenly preferred.
The beginning of the online gambling crackdown was marked by an announcement that operators that manage special cafés where iGaming options are provided to Philippine residents would not have their licenses renewed once these expire. PhilWeb Corporation became the most prominent victim of President Duterte’s disposition to alter the way gambling is provided within his country’s borders.
The company operated hundreds of online casino and bingo outlets across the country for years. In July, it was informed by PAGCOR, or the Philippine gambling regulator, that it would be given a month to prepare itself for the suspension of its iGaming operations. That extension expired early in August and it became clear that the license would not be further extended, due to the country President’s willingness to stop the proliferation of this type of products.
The Philippines’ top official even criticized openly PhilWeb’s former Chairman Roberto Ongpin, saying that he should be destroyed for benefiting from offering gambling options to the country’s poorest citizens. President Duterte even called the business tycoon, who has been ranking among the Philippines richest people for years now, an oligarch. Being under fire clearly did not suit Mr. Ongpin as he resigned from his post at the gambling operator shortly after, saying that this may help it eventually have its license renewed.
Quite understandably, PAGCOR was an active participant in the latest happenings within the country’s gambling industry. The regulator/operator said that the suspension of online gaming operations would result in the loss of PHP10 billion ($215 million) in annual revenue, an amount to be reckoned with.
However, recently appointed PAGCOR CEO and Chairwoman Andrea Domingo told media that such a suspension could not be prevented from happening as the country’s regulator is bound to act according to the President’s will.
It became clear in August that PAGCOR will issue licenses to operators that are based in the Philippines (or have their servers based there) but provide their services to overseas gambling customers. Such companies will be required to pay a certain licensing fee in order to be granted permission to operate in the Philippines. The country’s gambling regulator expressed hopes that this move will offset losses originating from President Duterte’s crackdown on online gambling. Ms. Domingo clarified that regulators would first issue licenses for a six month period so as to be able to determine whether such policy would work well for the country. She also pointed out that PAGCOR would charge interested companies with high fees.
Although the Philippine President originally seemed to be firm in his determination to stop the distribution of online gambling offering to residents in a bid to protect the poor and the most vulnerable, his position may have softened a bit. The country’s top official said recently that he may eventually allow PAGCOR to renew iGaming operators’ licenses provided that these are taxed in a proper manner and do not provide their services anywhere near schools, churches, or any other such edifices of public significance.
Explaining why he was so ill-disposed towards online gambling, President Duterte said that he was terribly bothered by the way it spread and affected the most vulnerable members of the population, particularly minors and the poor, and that he felt obliged to take due measures to cope with the problem.
Judging by the severity with which he tries to deal with drug trafficking, the Philippine President’s ways may be a bit too aggressive. Shutting down online gambling operations or otherwise said, an industry that annually brings millions of pesos to the country’s coffers, signals to an unnecessary hastiness. An adequate and properly promoted responsible gambling policy may actually do much more good than the complete block of iGaming options.
Luckily, the country’s expanding land-based gambling industry has not been targeted yet and there are no indications that a crackdown on it will be initiated. With the multi-billion development projects soon to be materialized into luxury integrated casino resorts, the Philippines has an enormous chance to turn into the next major gambling destination for Chinese high rollers now as Macau casinos are not the best places for them to gamble at.
