Galaxy Entertainment Group’s casino application for the Philippines will still be processed, according to Alfredo Lima, president of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
Galaxy and its local partner Leisure and Resorts World Corp. had planned to develop a US$500 million (MOP4.04 billion) integrated resort on the holiday island of Boracay. That plan was scuttled in April when President Rodrigo Duterte “closed” the island for environmental remediation. Calling the island “a cesspool,” Duterte said after it’s cleaned up, the land will be dedicated to farmland and other agrarian ventures.
The Macau News Agency reports that PAGCOR is moving forward with five license bids that came in before applications were suspended in January due to “oversupply.”
Ricardo Chi Sen Siu, associate professor of business economics at the University of Macau, told MNA, “I believe that the chance of Galaxy is still high in this project.” He said the Philippines government is looking to boost the positives of integrated resort developments, “especially the economic contributions” and “lower the downsides, such as corruption in the local government level and crime.”
By “re-switching on the green light” on the recent applications, he contended, the government may be signaling to operators that they must act in the “public interest.” No timeline was announced by PAGCOR for the processing of the licenses.
