Philippines gaming regulator PAGCOR will allow Manila’s four major casinos to accept bets online.
The approval is aimed at supporting City of Dreams Manila, Okada Manila, Resorts World Manila and Solaire Resort & Casino in their efforts to recover from the impacts of Covid-19.
It was reported by Bloomberg with no details on what the business will look like or how it will be implemented.
Richard Lanela, an analyst with Manila-based brokerage COL Financial Group, told the news agency the expansion will help the resorts to “survive and get through the pandemic until they are allowed by government to fully operate. This is a way for them to earn some revenue.”
Casinos in the Philippines was shut down by government order In March and reopened only in late August and with various health and safety requirements in place, including a 30 percent limit on capacity.
Belle Corp., an investor in the Philippines tourism and leisure sectors and Melco Resorts’ partner in City of Dreams Manila, reported a 96 percent decline in third quarter revenue compared to the same period last year.
Solaire previously had declared a loss of US$96 million in the second quarter. Okada Manila and City of Dreams posted losses around $50 million in the same period.
As a regulator supported by taxes and fees on the industry and as an operator of its own chain of casinos, the toll on PAGCOR has been severe as well. The agency reported a combined 95.7 decline in revenue in the second quarter compared with the same period in 2019.
