The decision to ban online gambling in the Philippines is up to the country itself, said Manila’s top diplomat in a televised briefing on Thursday.
President Rodrigo Duterte arrived into China’s capital on late Wednesday and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.
Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana said that Duterte was “prepared” to respond to the Chinese president should he raise the issue of online gambling during their meeting.
“He [Duterte] will say it’s legal in the Philippines,” said Romana in a briefing.
China earlier called on the Philippines to ban online gambling, with concerns of a growing amount of illegal workers employed in the POGO industry.
“They can’t dictate on us. That’s our sovereign decision. That is where we stand,” Sta. Romana said.
The ambassador said that “the Philippines is taking steps to regulate” online gambling in the country, but could not ban it, adding that it would have economic implications in the country.
This Dossier results from the “Life After POGOs” editorial project by Asia Gaming Brief which culminated with a pop-up digital forum on 9th December to discuss potentials ramifications in the industry.
Covid-19 forced the rapid and unexpected closure of venues across Australia, changing the operating environment with unprecedented speed and leaving managers scrambling to adapt...
Current revenues collected by the Macau government, excluding capital revenues, dropped by 65.3 percent to MOP42.1 billion from Jan. to November, as gaming taxes collected by the local authorities plunged.
Malaysia's Department of Integrity and Compliance Standards (JIPS) of the Royal Malaysia Police says it continues to receive many complaints from the public alleging the police are failing in their responsibilities to enforce the law, especially against illegal gambling and drug trafficking.
Over the years, many of the answers have been remarkably prescient in their forecasts for the near-term direction of Asia’s gaming industry. However, we can safely say that no one came anywhere close to guessing
what 2020 may have had in store.
While nowhere in the world has escaped the economic fallout from the Covid-19 crisis, Macau has been hit harder than most, with forecasts for gross domestic product to shrink more than 50 percent this year.
Before the Covid-19 crisis, tourism in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region was at a record high, on track to welcome 80 million visitors in 2019, generating some $90 billion in revenue.