The Philippines plan to revive its gambling industry by attracting foreign operators, allowing betting for locals, and providing new services such as horse racing and cockfighting.
The Philippines Revives Economy with More Online Gambling and Betting
The Philippines is moving towards introducing online gambling for local operators, expanding overseas, and coining new gambling products such as horse-racing and cockfighting to cater to local demand. Regulators are making way for casinos and resorts to integrate online gaming for foreigners and locals, as the industry has been cut from overseas revenue in the lack of players.
The recovery plan by President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration is to spur the economy out of the current crisis faster with the help of higher gaming revenue. Some precautions are necessary as the industry has seen a spate of bribery scandals and opposition from China.
The Philippines have enjoyed strong interest from foreign operators who have come to the country to target primarily foreign customers and mostly Chinese.
Gambling opposition from Beijing, closing borders, and the higher taxation proposed by the government in Manila has added to the woes of the gambling industry of the country, which is bleeding money, unable to generate fresh revenue as the government scrambles to make up for the lost revenue.
E-cockfighting and Horse Racing from the Philippines to the UK and South America
Online cockfighting is planned to be distributed out of the Philippines, targeting customers in South America while online horse racing and dog racing will focus on audiences in the United States and the United Kingdom.
At a webinar hosted by Asia Gaming Brief, an industry-leading publication in the region, Andrea Domingo, chair of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) said that the regulator is focusing on countries beyond Asia and is convinced that there might be a market for cockfighting in South America.
The Philippines is Going towards Local Betting
Creating a more domestic-oriented model for online betting in the Philippines could resolve the current issue with the foreigner-dominated market and also help increase gaming revenues from local betting.
Domingo also stated that until recently older people couldn’t play because they weren’t allowed to go out of their homes and casino revenues sunk as a result.
Based on PAGCOR’s estimates “gross gaming revenues from land-based casinos as of September fell to 73 billion pesos ($1.52 billion) and in 2019, GGR stood at a record 251 billion pesos.”
Meanwhile, consumer focus is shifting online. If the Philippines revives the gaming markets with online gambling and betting solutions, and PAGCOR successfully penetrates markets overseas, the industry will get back on its feet.
During the AGB webinar, Domingo also stated that Bloomberry Resorts’ Solaire and another smaller casino already had received online betting permits. City of Dreams Manila and Okada Manila, which are multi-billion dollar casinos, have also requested approval for online betting. PAGCOR also gave a license to a unit of Philippine listed-DFNN to have a remote gaming platform that will allow players to access gambling products remotely.