PAGCOR would oversee land-based only
Philippines Senator Richard Gordon is encouraging the government to create a new regulator to govern online gaming in addition to the existing regulator, the state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., reported the Asia Gaming Brief.
Gordon has dubbed the prospective new entity the Philippine Online Gaming and Regulatory Authority. He says a discrete regulatory body is needed to oversee the burgeoning $250 billion online industry.
Gordon made the recommendation at a Senate hearing and received an endorsement from Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, who agrees that a dedicated online gaming regulator is a necessary addition to the regulatory structure.
Online games are limited to offshore players, because Philippine gaming laws prohibit Filipinos from gambling on the internet.
In a related matter, e-Games operator PhilWeb has announced its intention to buy 15 PAGCOR e-Games stations. The Philippine Star reported that the stations form part of PAGCOR’s e-Games network.
“We continue to be bullish that we will be able to renew our license with PAGCOR at some time in the near future,” PhilWeb President and Corporate Information Officer Dennis O. Valdes. “We also wish to support those operators that we have worked with over the past 14 years. Some currently wish to exit the business so we are offering them an ability to exit by selling us their businesses.”
PhilWeb had provided the software and associated facilities for the e-Games network until August 2016, when President Rodrigo Duterte imposed a crackdown on online gambling in the country. Duterte called former PhilWeb Chairman Roberto V. Ongpin an “oligarch” who “must be destroyed.” In response, Ongpin resigned and divested his majority stake in the gaming technology provider. Gregorio Ma. Araneta III acquired the shares and assumed the role of chairman.
The suspension of e-Games operations caused a 63 percent drop in PhilWeb’s net income for the first nine months of 2016.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Trapo Movement of the Philippines is seeking an injunction against PAGCOR to stop the issuance of licenses for Philippine Online Gaming Operations.The ATM also asked the Supreme Court to nullify the rules and regulations for POGO issued by the PAGCOR board and void all existing licenses issued by the regulatory body.
