Reorganisation of Philippines gambling industry moves ahead

Moves to strip the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp, which is both land casino operator and regulator in the region, of its operational element are progressing in the Philippine Congress with bill HB6514 making firm proposals.

The bill is supported by Speaker of the House Pantaleon Alvarez and House deputy majority leader Juan Pablo Bondoc and calls for a major reorganisation of Pagcor to remove the apparent conflict of being both operator and regulator in the local land and online market.

The legislative proposal follows statements by Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III in August that the government intends to take operational activity away from Pagcor and sell off its 17 land casinos starting next year.

The proposal in the 24-page bill is that Pagcor will focus on its mandate as regulator under the new title Philippine Amusements and Gaming Authority (Paga).

The authors have proposed that the regulation of all games of chance that have been authorised by special economic zones – a system currently including some offshore-aimed online gaming services licensed via the Cagayan Special Economic Zone – should be “centralised” and “consolidated” under the new regulator “for the purposes of efficiency”.

The bill notes the potential conflict of interest inherent in the current system and explains that for the purposes of effective regulation, it is necessary to “change the character of Pagcor from an operator and a regulator to a purely regulatory body.”

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