"In the Manila area, we listened to our investors. They gave us a position paper to give breathing space for the market space to mature in the NCR [National Capital Region] so we listened,” informed Domingo at the recent ASEAN Gaming Summit in Pasay City.
There are 18 casinos in operation in Metro Manila, of which three are owned by government-run PAGCOR and in the process of being privatized. New licenses were issued in the Philippines that led to a surge of facilities at Entertainment City in Manila. Bloomberry Resorts led the way with the opening of Solaire Casino in March 2013, followed by Tiger Resorts that launched the rebranded Okada Manila last December.
The other two licensees in Entertainment City are Melco, which opened City of Dreams Manila in December 2014 and Travelers International, which plans to open Westside City Resorts World by 2021.
Further expansion of the industry will be
managed carefully, added Domingo, indicating that PAGCOR plans to release a
policy that limits the number of new casinos to one per city or province. "I
think one per big city or province is enough. We require a no-objection
resolution from the local government unit (LGU). We do not operate anywhere
where the LGU has not expressively agreed in writing. We also pay shares to the
host city, the host municipality,” Domingo concluded.
Source: GMB / Innovate Gaming
