5,000 jobs at stake
PhilWeb Corp., which operates electronic casinos owned by Philippine gaming regulator PAGCOR, is on a fast track to nowhere in the country as newly elected President Rodrigo Duterte implements his anti-gaming plan.
According to Bloomberg News, the gaming operator’s shares fell to a 22-month low on the news. PhilWeb shares have plunged more than 70 percent since the start of July, when Duterte ordered a stop to online gambling within hours of taking office. PhilWeb has announced it may close more than 280 e-Games outlets as a result.
Philweb President Dennis Valdes, in an interview with the Philippine Star, said up to 5,000 jobs could be lost as a result of the shakeup. “In addition, SMEs that supply goods and services to each e-Games outlet would also suffer from the shutdown,” he said. Valdes also pointed out that PAGCOR will no longer receive a share of the eGames revenue, about PHP2.1 billion (US$1.5 million) per year, or the PHP280 million in taxes paid by PhilWeb.
After Duterte called PhilWeb Chairman Roberto Ongpin an “oligarch” he hoped to “destroy,” the former Marcos-era trade minister resigned, as did his daughter, Anna Bettina Ongpin, who was PhilWeb’s vice chairman and director.
Valdes said last week that a “winding down” of operations started August 10. He added that the company “will try to avoid” layoffs. “We have to find a way to continue to do business and we will,” he said.
Philweb is operating on a temporary provisional license, which will expire this month. The company operates over 300 electronic gambling cafes in the Philippines, and has units in Cambodia, Guam and East Timor.
