
62 Money-Laundering Charges for Philippines’ ‘POGO Mayor’
Philippine authorities this week charged former small-town mayor Alice Guo with 62 counts of money laundering. Along with 31 codefendants, Guo was linked to a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) in Bamban, Tarlac Province. The gaming facility, licensed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), allegedly served as a front for online romance and investment scams.
After a March 2024 raid, almost 800 workers were freed from the POGO. They said they were lured by bogus promises of good-paying positions, then held captive and threatened with torture if they tried to escape or did not fill their financial quotas.
In related news, Singapore police are cooperating with Philippines authorities to track down Guo’s coconspirators. According to Malaysian news outlet The Star, they include Zhang Jie, who reportedly ran illegal iGaming operations in both Singapore and the Philippines, and Wu Duanren, known as the “boss” of a POGO in Porac, Pampanga.
Last July, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. banned POGOs, but pockets of illegal activity continue. On Jan. 8, Philippine police raided yet another illegal compound near Manila, arresting 400 foreign workers in the sting. The government-run Philippine News Agency (PNA) reports that all the workers are in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Star’s Cash Depletes, but Shareholders Double Down
Star Entertainment’s 2025 kicked off with bad news as the group announced on Jan. 8 that its cash reserves had fallen to AU$79 million ($48.9 million) at the end of 2024. That total includes the first AU$100 million tranche from its new debt facility, which was drawn on Jan. 3.
This means that in the last three months of the year, Star’s available cash fell by AU$107 million. The company attributed this to multiple factors, including “difficult trading conditions,” fees and contributions to its Queen’s Wharf joint venture, “significant” legal and consulting expenses and the first AU$5 million instalment of the AU$15 million fine from New South Wales (NSW) regulators in reference to the Bell Two inquiry.
A pair of ASX filings Jan. 14 showed that two shareholders are increasing their positions. The first is global powerhouse JPMorgan Chase & Co, which now holds about 182 million shares for a 6.3 percent stake in Star. This comes two weeks after the Jan. 2 announcement that the bank’s stake was around 5 percent.
The other bullish investor is Mr. Xingchun Wang, who increased his stake from 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent, or about 187 million shares. Not much is known about the mystery businessman, but some have reported that he has ties to Macau. Regardless, Wang is now Star’s second-largest shareholder. He trails only Chow Tai Fook (9.6 percent), Star’s business partner in Queen’s Wharf.
MGM’s Japan Partner: Osaka Resort Could Rival Macau, Singapore
Orix Corp., MGM Resorts’ Japanese partner in a multibillion-dollar integrated resort in Osaka, says it will compete handily with IRs in Macau and Singapore.
In comments last week on the company website, Kansai region representative Toyonori Takahashi said he’s confident the IR “will attract many visitors and tourists, both from the rest of Japan and from overseas,” and stand up to competition from “established IRs in Asia, particularly in Macau and Singapore.”
He added that Japan’s other attractions, “from food to culture to nature… give it strong advantages over these smaller cities.”
MGM and Orix have pledged to invest up to $10 billion (JPY1.6 trillion) for the resort, slated to open in 2030.
Lunar New Year Means Modest Gains in Macau
Macau casino stocks will get a shot in the arm from Chinese New Year revelries, but it will not be “thesis-changing,” according to JP Morgan analysts cited by Macau Business.
In a Jan. 15 note to investors, DS Kim, Mufan Shi and Selina Li wrote that “a sector-wide rally is unlikely without a clear catalyst” or “market-wide excitement.” However, the boost in visitation—with 99 percent of casino hotels already sold out—will deliver a spike of “low- to mid-single-digits.” The Year of the Snake begins Jan. 29 and ends Feb. 2.
The Macau Gaming and Inspection Bureau (DICJ) has projected a 6 percent increase in gross gaming revenue for fiscal 2025, to MOP240 billion (US$29.9 billion). But in a 2024 report, Citigroup analysts pointed out that the DICJ tends to underestimate the totals.
According to the Macau Daily Times, Citi’s George Choi and Timothy Chau projected a 7 percent lift in GGR year-over-year, for a total of MOP244 billion.
Poll: South Koreans Split on Casino Benefits
A survey of 1,000 Jeju islanders show that 49.9 percent blame local casinos for a rise in crime.
Jeju, the largest island in South Korea, hosts eight of the country’s 18 casinos. All are run by the Jeju Self-Governing Province, and all are open to foreigners only.
According to the Korea Times, 52 percent of survey respondents said casinos have increased noise pollution, traffic congestion and noise on the resort island. Slightly more than 55 percent said casinos are potentially harmful to young people. A total of 51.4 percent said the government should exercise greater control through stricter regulations.
On the flip side, about four of 10 of islanders acknowledged that the industry has boosted local tourism and created new jobs. Overall, however, just 25.7 percent of those polled said casinos have had a “positive” impact, and 28.6 percent perceived them as “negative.” About 46 percent were neutral.