A Philippines congressman wants the government to impose an entry fee for Filipinos wishing to enter casinos as a means of deterring “financially inadequate” individuals from gambling.
Peter Unabia’s bill, which proposes a PHP3,500 fee (about US$80 under current exchange rates), has been routed to the Committee on Games and Amusements of the House of Representatives.
“The imposition of an entrance fee will discourage the locals from gambling in casinos,” Unabia said, adding that other countries have adopted similar policies, notably Singapore, whose government also prohibits the unemployed, people receiving public welfare and people who have filed for bankruptcy protection from entering the city-state’s two casinos.
Interestingly, he noted the existence of a provision in a presidential decree that requires Philippine nationals to certify that had gross income of at least PHP50,000 in the previous year in order to gamble, but it is not enforced either by PAGCOR, the state-run operator/regulator, or the country’s privately owned PAGCOR-licensed casinos.
PAGCOR, meanwhile, expects it will generate at least PHP14 billion ($32 million) for the treasury next year, roughly flat with this year’s forecast.
The agency is required to remit at least 50 percent of its annual gross earnings to the government. In the first half of this year, PHP9.95 billion was paid in, slightly higher compared with the PHP9.93 billion in H1 2013. However, the government’s share of PAGCOR revenues is expected to increase in the coming months with the opening later this year of a second megaresort at Entertainment City on Manila Bay.
PAGCOR expects the country’s gaming revenues to increase 13 percent this year.
