Rodrigo Duterte being Advocated to re-think new casino prohibition

In the Philippines, the head of the nation’s gaming regulator has reportedly implored President Rodrigo Duterte (pictured below), to lift his ban on the building of any new privately-financed casinos so that the Asian nation can take advantage of this ‘sunrise industry.’

Practical policy:

According to a report from GGRAsia citing a Wednesday story from the Bloomberg news service, Andrea Domingo (pictured above), Chairman for the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, is hoping that her country’s leader will now begin to take a more pragmatic approach to the gambling industry after initiating his controversial prohibition a year ago.

Domingo reportedly told Bloomberg…

“Gaming seems to be the sunrise industry now in Asia. There are still areas in the Philippines that can still absorb and benefit from these investments, which won’t go here with the current ban.”

Imminent openings:

The source explained that Duterte’s 2018 embargo does not pertain to new-to-market casino projects that had been approved before its initiation. Domingo further told Bloomberg that her organization had so far authorized 13 such schemes with the five most recent expected to go live before the end of 2025 featuring a combined minimum investment of $1.5 billion.

Gaming revenues rise:

Last week saw Domingo detail that her nation’s aggregated gross gaming revenues for 2018 had risen by about 13% year-on-year to hit an all-time high of approximately $3.79 billion. She purportedly went on to forecast that the figure for the coming twelve months could grow again by around 8.5% to attain a new record of $4.11 billion.

Operator optimism:

Furthermore, last week also saw Japanese investments firm, Nomura Holdings Incorporated, predict that Filipino casino operator, Bloomberry Resorts Corporation, will see improved gross gaming revenues through to the end of 2020. This Manila-listed firm is responsible via its Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Incorporated subsidiary for the nation’s $1.2 billion Solaire Resort and Casino, which recorded a 30% rise year-on-year in visitors from China for the eleven months from January of 2018.