Philippines allows online casinos to partly resume ops
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MANILA • The Philippines has allowed online casinos targeting Chinese gamblers to partly resume operations amid a lockdown on the main Luzon Island.
"The decision was reached with the intention of helping the national government raise necessary funds to combat the coronavirus pandemic," the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation said in a statement yesterday.
Only 30 per cent of a Philippine offshore gaming operator's workforce per shift will be allowed to operate, the regulator said.
Employees reporting for work must be tested for Covid-19, practise social distancing and wear masks at all times, it said.
The gaming agency requires Philippine offshore gaming operators, or Pogos, to remit 2 per cent of their gross gaming revenue as regulatory fees. Such fees brought in revenue of 5.73 billion pesos (S$161 million) last year, and 1.8 billion pesos in the first quarter of this year.
Prior to resuming operations, Pogos and their service providers must settle all their tax liabilities with the Bureau of Internal Revenue and update their payment of regulatory fees, the gaming agency said.
The regulator said more than 31,000 Filipinos work in the industry, which pays property companies 25 billion pesos on leaseholds and rentals on about one million sq m of office space.
BLOOMBERG
