Inside Asian Gaming

IAG AUG 2021年8月 亞博匯 12 PHILIPPINES PRESIDENT CHANGES TUNE ON ONLINE GAMBLING 菲總統轉變對 網絡博彩的看法 ONCE AN ARDENT CRITIC of all gambling activities, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte now considers gambling a necessary source of funds to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Duterte outlined his views during a recent meeting with political party officials, and the state-owned Philippine News Agency reported that online gambling was among the topics of discussion. “Why did I allow gambling? We don’t have money. Now that we need money, the most sensible thing is really just to encourage those activities,” the President is quoted as saying. “Though it may sound not really repulsive but maybe repugnant to some, you have to deal with it because we need money for the country.” Duterte famously quashed a US$500 million casino development in Boracay proposed by Macau’s Galaxy Entertainment Group in partnership with Leisure and Resorts World Corp in 2018 after issuing an Executive Order cancelling the casino licenses of all casino operators on the island. Hong Kong-listed Landing International Development Ltd also had a 50-year land lease deal – for development of a US$1.5 billion integrated resort in Manila’s Entertainment City precinct – cancelled by Duterte in August 2018. Despite this, the nation’s much discussed Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) industry and more recently a PIGO scheme allowing casino operators to provide online gaming to locals have been developed under Duterte’s watch. “When it comes to the pandemic, we’re running out of money. We used up all our reserved funds to contain the viral virus from rampaging all throughout the country,” Duterte said. 菲律賓總統 杜特爾特曾嚴厲批評所有博彩活動，但他現在轉而認 為博彩收入有必要成為對抗新冠疫情的資金來源。 杜特爾特在近期與政黨官員會面時表達了他的觀點。據菲律 賓國家通訊社報道稱，網絡博彩是探討的主題之一。 報道引述總統話語：「我為什麼允許賭博。我們缺錢，需要錢， 最明智的做法就是鼓勵這些活動。」 「雖然這聽起來可能令某些人反感，但是我們必須應對它，因 為我們的國家需要錢。」 在2018年發佈行政命令取消了長灘島上所有賭場營運商的 牌照之後，杜特爾特下令撤銷了銀河娛樂集團與Leisure and Re- sorts World Corp計劃投資5億美元的長灘島娛樂場開發計劃。 香港上市公司藍鼎國際發展有限公司曾與杜特爾特簽署了一 項為期 50 年的土地租賃協議，用於在馬尼拉娛樂城區開發一個價 值 15 億美元的綜合度假村。該協議亦在 2018 年 8 月被杜特爾特 取消。 儘管如此，菲律賓備受關注的離岸博彩運營商（POGO）行業 以及最近的一項允許賭場運營商向當地人提供網絡博彩的PIGO 計劃，都是在爾特的監督下發展起來。 「新冠疫情幾乎燒光了我們的錢。我們動用了所有備用資金 來遏制疫情在國內的傳播。」