Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming April 2015 13 Insights in 2018, broke ground last year. Its owner, Travellers International Hotel Group, operates Resorts World Manila, the country’s first major independently operated casino resort, which opened in 2009 and enjoyed rapid success, paving the way for the new breed of properties now opening at Entertainment City. Travellers is a joint venture between local billionaire Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global Group and Genting Group subsidiary Genting Hong Kong. Genting and Melco Crown partner Crown Resorts are both developing resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and are expected to be approved for Nevada gaming licenses, an indication of Pagcor’s increased legitimacy as a regulator. Genting already has a gamine venue in the US, Resorts World New York City—considered the most profitable machine-only gaming venue in the country—and recently won a license to develop a second property outside New York in the Catskill Mountains resort area. Caesars Entertainment, which operates some 40 casinos in the US, has expressed interest in building a Manila integrated resort, another sign of Pagcor’s enhanced regard as a regulator. Despite Caesars’ brand profile and history, Mr Naguiat reacted coolly to the idea. Pagcor says it wants to let its Entertainment City operators find their footing before granting further gaming licenses. That had to warm the hearts of current licensees. Similarly, Pagcor under Mr Naguiat has stood up for its licensees in the battle over income tax with the Bureau of Internal Revenue. A 2011 Supreme Court decision removed Pagcor’s exemption from the 30% corporate income tax, and a 2013 BIR circular said the tax also applied to Pagcor’s licensees. Exemption from income tax was a key selling point for Pagcor to attract licensees, and the court ruling fueled doubts about the Philippines as a reliable investment destination with repercussions beyond the gaming industry. Pagcor fought the BIR decision in the courts and pledged to negate the impact on licensees. Last year, it agreed to cut license fees, effectively the gaming tax, by 10 percentage points to 5% on VIP play and 17% on mass market revenue, a decision that was unpopular with the public and the bureaucracy. In February, the Supreme Court ruled that Pagcor was exempt from the income tax Casino Filipino Angeles Casino Filipino Cebu Casino Filipino Davao Casino Filipino Pavilion in the heart of Manila. Two of Pagcor’s 11 Casino Filipino-branded gaming establishments are located in Manila. Of the rest, some are in key cities with significant tourism potential. Pagcor also operates electronic gaming arcades, mini-casinos with machines and table games, and bingo halls across the archipelago.