The Philippines market regulator may be considering regulation to allow local Filipinos to gamble online to make up for plummeting revenue from the country’s legal gambling outlets, according to industry sources.

More than half of the fees and taxes raised by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp are submitted to the government for nation-building projects.

However, in Q2, regulated casinos generated just $47m, a decline of more than 95 per cent from the prior year, while income from the country’s Philippine Offshore Gambling Operators (POGOs) has halved to about $6m a month.

The Philippines is the first in the region to introduce such a move, which is part of slew of online gambling projects to attract Filipinos and, later on, foreigners to place bets and generate. MANILA - A boom in online gaming is fueling the influx of Chinese workers to the Philippines in the past couple of months, an immigration spokeswoman said Saturday.

While the land-based casinos are eventually expected to recover their prior revenue-generating capacity, the same may not hold true for POGOs, with only 33 out of 60 having resumed operations post the pandemic shutdowns.

The imposition of a five per cent franchise tax on gross gaming revenue and the need to pay back taxes before starting back in business has led many to throw in the towel and look for greener pastures.

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Against this backdrop, PAGCOR is seeking other opportunities to raise revenue and two major electronic games licence holders have been told to expect PAGCOR rules and procedures in the near future, according to one source who did not wish to be named.

This option is also likely to be made available to other licensed operators, including casinos and bingo operators. Suppliers are already beginning to look at market opportunities.

Philippines Online Gambling News

Source: Asia Gaming Brief