PAGCOR casino sell-off moves closer as regulator split advances
The Philippines is moving closer to separating casino regulation from casino operation as PAGCOR prepares for the planned privatisation of its commercial gaming properties.
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation expects the Governance Commission for GOCCs to make a decision on its proposed restructuring, which is intended to allow PAGCOR to become purely a gambling regulatory body.
PAGCOR currently occupies the unusual position of regulating the country’s gambling industry while also operating its own Casino Filipino properties.
The government has been working towards separating those functions as the Philippines’ regulated casino and online gaming industries expand.
PAGCOR has estimated that selling its commercial casino operations could generate PHP20 billion to PHP30 billion for the government.
The proposed restructure would leave the authority focused on licensing, compliance, enforcement and industry oversight rather than competing commercially against businesses it regulates.
Separating the two functions has become an important element of PAGCOR’s wider regulatory reform program.
The Philippines has also been tightening oversight of its rapidly growing domestic online gaming sector following the closure of the offshore POGO industry.
Completion of the restructuring would represent one of the most significant changes to the country’s gambling regulatory framework in decades and clear the way for the Casino Filipino assets to move into private ownership.
