Over 120 Online Gambling Licences in the Philippines Cancelled

Filipino President Duterte continues his war on gambling, as the regulatory body announces that 124 online licences are evoked.

It turns out that the promise of the newly elected President of the Philippines to stop online gambling wasn’t just mere words. Acting upon the request of the President, the country’s gambling regulator has already cancelled more than 120 online casino licences.

Moreover, it has been announced that over 300 online gaming licences might not be renewed, as well as over 320 bingo licences. The new CEO of the regulating body also stated that a new task force that will tackle illegal gaming might be created in the near future. All in all, it seems that establishing and running an online casino in the Philippines will be a lot more difficult in the future.

Further 302 Casino and 324 Bingo Licences Will not Be Renewed

Many people didn’t take the words of President Rodrigo Duterte all too seriously, especially bearing in mind that the Philippines have a reputation of being pretty liberal when it comes to casino gaming, including online gaming.

The President didn’t take long to turn his words into actions, as the newly elected CEO of the PAGCOR, the country’s gaming regulator, announced that it has evoked 124 online gambling licences.

It has been reported in Filipino media that PAGCOR doesn’t intend to renew the licences of further 302 gaming websites, as well as 324 bingo websites that offer casino games and bingo to Filipinos. Andrea Domingo, PAGCOR boss, announced that said that PAGCOR will lose about ₱10 billion (about $213 million) due to the non-renewal decision. She also said that the regulator is working with the Government in order to see which operators and companies will be affected by the newly adopted anti-gambling policy.

The President’s war on gambling doesn’t end here. Domingo also announced that a special unit would be created and its goal would be to act as a gambling watchdog and tackle illegal gambling throughout the country. The unit will be cooperating with Filipino police and other state enforcement bodies.

Passing new legislative that will allow PAGCOR with the Charity Sweepstakes Office has also been mentioned as one of the possible measures. In addition to being a regulative body PAGCOR also runs 11 casinos all over the country and regulates an equal amount of private gambling venues. Its net income was ₱2.5 billion ($53 million) in the first half of this year.

Record Gambling Revenues in Delaware and Pennsylvania in June

The US state of Delaware legalised online gambling in 2012 and this June was the best month in terms of revenues ever since. Namely, the state announced that revenues exceeded $300,000 this June, which is a staggering 180% compared to the same period last year. All three licenced operators had a successful month.

Compared to say, New Jersey where the revenues were higher than $16 million, it may seem that Delaware’s gambling revenues are pretty low, but it has to be noted that online gambling is growing faster than ever. Still, let’s not forget that The First State, as it is called, has a population smaller than 1 million.

June was a successful month for casino operators in another American state – Pennsylvania, but here we’re talking of land-based operators. Namely, the revenues were an amazing $3.2 billion, which is the highest figure for monthly revenues ever since gambling was made legal 9 years ago. Pennsylvania is yet to legalise online gambling.