New “strategic direction”
The First Cagayan Leisure and Resort Corp., which regulates iGaming in the Philippines Cagayan Economic Zone, has announced it will make substantial upgrades to its technical infrastructure as the rival Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. develops a legal and licensing framework for online gaming.
According to CalvinAyre.com, online gaming operators licensed in the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority have been notified by First Cagayan President Francis Hernando that the corporation plans a new “strategic direction” with upgrades of data and telecommunication systems.
The Asia Gaming Brief reports that First Cagayan will invest $4 million to upgrade its existing data center in Cagayan Cyberpark and another $3 million to redevelop infrastructure outside the Freeport.
The changes will make First Cagayan’s hosting and connectivity the equal of “established international gaming jurisdictions,” Hernando said, adding that First Cagayan will “make substantial investments and exert efforts to bring these strategic plans to fruition.”
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte took office last summer promising to stamp our online gaming. He since has given PAGCOR the nod issue online gaming licenses for the first time, AGB reported. The regulator has issued about three dozen Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator licenses or POGOs, according to the Philippine Star.
Meanwhile, PAGCOR has posted a strong increase in gaming revenue for 2016. PAGCOR Chairwoman Andrea Domingo told the Inquirer newspaper that gross gaming revenues rose to P55 billion (US$1.1 billion) at the end of the year, an increase of 17 percent over 2015.
“Not only were we able to maintain our revenues, but we were actually able to improve it,” Domingo said. She added that the introduction of POGOs has prompted “many expressions of interest from abroad.”
