Resorts World Manila license revocation hurting Philippines tax revenues
Updated:2024-06-20 15:30 Views:56In the Philippines, the recent decision by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation regulator to revoke the casino license of Resorts World Manila following a deadly shooting and arson attack is reportedly costing the Asian nation up to $277,000 a day in lost tax revenues.
According to a report from the Manila Bulletin newspaper, the revelation from Andrea Domingo, Chief Executive Officer for the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, came as regulatory officials began conducting inspections of the Manila facility in advance of deciding whether to reinstate the venue’s casino license.
“For the whole month of June, we could have lost $7.59 million,” Domingo told the newspaper. “If it continues, let’s say for the whole year, that remittance is about $89 million a year. It’s a big problem for us.”
Operated by Travellers International Hotel Group Incorporated, Resorts World Manila was immediately closed in the wake of the June 2 incident, which saw 38 people lose their lives after former government employee Jessie Javier Carlos stormed the property while shooting at security guards and setting fires, and has yet to re-open. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation subsequently revoked the facility’s casino license on June 9 pending the results of an official probe with Domingo reportedly declaring that the regulator is eager to immediately resolve the situation in order to protect the futures of the shuttered venue’s 6,000 employees as well as an estimated 10,000 indirect jobs.
“Last week, Resorts World Manila requested a lifting of the suspension,” Domingo told the Manila Bulletin. “What we did is we made a template of all the requirements for safety, security for the training of the manpower and how to harden Resorts World Manila as a target. We were informed in the letter that [Resorts World Manila] had done all of the requirements and it is now ready to open. What we have been doing for the last two days [is] working on ensuring that all of the safety and security requirements that we’re now requiring are in place.”
Domingo reportedly explained that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation is to moreover ask every one of the nation’s existing casinos including those located in the nearby Entertainment City district, which encompass the City of Dreams Manila, the Solaire Resort and Casino and the Okada Manila facilities, to implement the revised safety measures being required of Resorts World Manila.
“We’re not imposing this only to Resorts World Manila, we going to impose it to all our other integrated resorts including those situated in the economic zones of Clark [Freeport Zone] and Subic [Bay Freeport Zone],” Domingo told the newspaper.
Category