Duterte gets real on online gambling

When Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte took office last summer he listed a war on online gambling as one of his priorities, committing to sweeping bans that disrupted the industry.

However, the maverick president appears to have experienced an epiphany on the issue and was recently reported as saying: “I really can’t stop it. You better tax them than fight them.”

And that’s what he has been doing, according to a Bloomberg business report this week, which notes that over the past year regulator Pagcor has approved licensing for 45 online gaming companies that have committed to excluding Philippine players.

It’s been a cash cow for the government, Bloomberg notes, reporting that taxes and fees have generated around $58 million for government coffers, accounting for more than 10 percent of its revenue from the gaming industry.

“Duterte’s change of heart makes the Philippines the only Asian country that has a legal framework for online gaming companies. The move could be seen as a natural extension of the country’s core competency: providing offshore services. Traditionally, these were business and IT outsourcing firms; now, they may be online casinos,” the news agency observes.

Government finances are not the only beneficiary, the report continues; online gambling operators currently take up 30 percent of new office space in Manila, helping to cushion a slowdown in demand from outsourcing firms being experienced by land lords..

According to a Morgan Stanley estimate, online gambling companies could absorb the entire supply of new office space in the second half of this year. That has resulted in a boost for the shares of top Philippines developers, who account for almost 20 percent of the Philippine Stock Exchange PSEi Index.

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