Officials from the Philippine National Police will meet representatives from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) to brainstorm ways to fight illegal gambling in the country. PAGCOR is the state-run gaming regulator, and also an operator of Philippine casinos.
According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the meeting will also be attended by officials of the government’s Games and Amusement Board. Philippine police are already conducting an “in-depth study” of the various forms of illegal gambling reportedly taking place in the Philippines, reported the newspaper.
“We want to thrash out which are illegal and which are not so that the public would know and likewise for our policemen to identify which of these could be subjected to police operations,” Police Chief Archie Gamboa said.
In 2019, PAGCOR reported that total gross gaming revenues for all casinos in the country rose 15.4 percent to nearly PHP216.39 billion (US$4.28 billion), from PHP187.54 billion in the prior year. Casino GGR produced by the private-sector casinos in Entertainment City in Manila accounted for 76.4 percent of the overall market.
