Philippines banned from building casinos

The Philippine Star newspaper reports on the imposition of a moratorium on the construction of new casinos outside the gambling zone located in Manila. This initiative comes from the Philippine president. He believes that such a restriction will contribute to the "maturation" of the entertainment market. In addition, according to him, today there are too many gambling establishments in the country.

The information about the freezing of construction was confirmed by Andrea Domingo, CEO of the gambling regulator. While at the ICE Totally Gaming exhibition in London, the official told the media that the head of state announced his decision on January 11. Therefore, from the 14th, the service entrusted to it does not issue permission for the construction of new gambling facilities.

The Philippine Star newspaper draws attention to the fact that the ban will not interfere with the construction of casinos, licenses for which were obtained before January 13, 2018. In particular, we are talking about the plans of one of the richest Filipinos, John Gokongwei. He intends to build a huge casino on an area of almost 18 hectares near the city of Cebu. According to Andrea Domingo, Gokongwei received the license for the casino through its own resort complex. She predicts that the enterprise will begin operations in 2022.

The moratorium will also not apply to the construction of a resort in the suburban area of the Philippine capital Dasmarinas, which is managed by the firm of Manuel Villar, and a similar facility in the Clark Freeport area, which is backed by Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Incorporated.