Inside Asian Gaming

IAG MAY 2023年5月 亞博匯 16 PAGCOR CHAIRMAN SAYS PRIVATIZATION OF PAGCOR CASINOS TOP PRIORITY PAGCOR主席稱 PAGCOR賭場的私有 化目前是當務之急 THE CHAIRMAN AND CEO of Philippines gaming regulator PAGCOR says he expects the agency to privatize its casino operations arm during his term and focus all of its energies on regulation. In the clearest indication yet that PAGCOR’s dual role as operator and regulator could be coming to an end, Alejandro Tengco explained that the current PAGCOR Board of Directors planned to focus much more on its regulatory role and “hopes to privatize the state- run gaming firm’s self-operated casinos nationwide”, according to a PAGCOR press release. Tengco added that PAGCOR has been “open to talks about privatization but [has] ensured that the welfare of employees who will be affected by such management decision will be taken into consideration.” The issue of privatizing PAGCOR’s 41 casinos – nine of them run under the Casino Filipino brand and 32 as pure satellites – has become more prominent in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with supporters of a sell-off claiming privatization would provide a cash windfall while eliminating a clear conflict of interest. While no plan has yet been formalized on how to offload such a substantial asset base, Tengco said he was confident PAGCOR’s casinos had plenty to offer – despite the growing influence of the Philippines’ licensed casinos in Entertainment City and Clark. “While we may struggle to be at par facilities-wise, I am of the firm belief that we do not trail behind in terms of skill set and talent pool,” he said. “The greatest asset PAGCOR has ever had is its human resources. To capitalize on our people is also part of our vision.” 菲律賓 博彩監管機構PAGCOR主席兼首席執行官Alejandro Tengco表示，他希望該機構可在其任期內將賭場運營部門私有 化，並將所有精力集中在監管上。 有明確的跡象表明，PAGCOR同時作為營運商和監管機構的 雙重角色可能即將結束。根據PAGCOR的新聞稿，Tengco稱目 前董事會計劃更多地側重其監管角色，並「希望將全國範圍內國 營博彩公司的自營賭場私有化」。 Tengco補充說，PAGCOR一直「對討論私有化持開放態 度，但確保將考慮受此類管理決定影響的員工的福利」。 PAGCOR的42家賭場私有化的問題（10家以Casino Filipino 品牌經營，32家作為純衛星賭場營運）在新冠疫情之後變得更為 突出。支持出售者聲稱私有化將提供額外金額，同時消除明顯的 利益衝突。 儘管目前尚未正式就如何剝離如此龐大的資產基礎有正式計 劃，但Tengco相信，PAGCOR的賭場可有更多選擇——儘管菲 律賓在娛樂城和克拉克的持牌賭場的影響力越來越大。 他表示：「雖然我們可能很難在設施方面達到同等水平，但 我堅信我們在技能組合和人才儲備方面不會落後。」 「PAGCOR擁有的最大資產是其人力資源，善用我們的員工 也是我們願景的之一。」