The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) announced that it has issued a provisional gaming license last Tuesday to Leisure and Resorts World Corp. (LRWC), the Filipino partner of Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG), paving the way for the establishment of a resort-casino in Boracay worth an estimated $500 million in 2019.
The Malay government confirmed that it had endorsed the establishment of Galaxy Entertainment Group’s casino in Boracay, as well as that of the Megaworld Corp.’s casino in Savoy Hotel at its Boracay Newcoast Development.
The LRWC pointed out that the integrated resort-casino will be built in an area spanning 23 hectares in Boracay, and that construction work is expected to start in 2019. The facility will take three years to complete. It added that gross gaming revenues (GGR) are expected to reach $100 million annually once the resort-casino operates.
“We at LRWC are elated and proud to be GEG’s local partner in this momentous endeavor. We thank Pagcor Chairman Andrea D. Domingo and the entire Pagcor board for giving GEG the chance to contribute to the booming Philippine tourism and gaming industry by granting BPRL [Boracay Philippines Resort and Leisure Corp.] a provisional gaming license,” LRWC Chairman Reynaldo P. Bantug said.
Bantug said LRWC will do its best to ensure that the Boracay project will preserve and maintain the natural beauty of the island-paradise, adding that the integrated resort will generate job opportunities for Filipinos.
Earlier, Domingo pointed out that Pagcor is targeting its GGR to hit P186 billion for this year, from P170 billion in 2017, with one of the growth drivers coming from the Philippine offshore gaming operators.
“For GGR, our target now is P186 billion. The gross revenues for Pagcor is different, from there we would be extracting P65 billion, and we would be contributing about 72 percent of that to the national office,” Domingo said.
LRWC is a publicly listed company that has been in the forefront of the leisure and gaming industry in the Philippines. Its wide array of services includes management and operation of general amusement, recreation enterprises, hotel and gaming facilities.
In February President Duterte issued a moratorium in line with the establishment of casinos in the country, noting its growing number. With this, Domingo had stopped the issuance of gaming licenses for new applicants, pointing out that it will have to let the market mature first.
Rowan Aguirre, Malay local government executive assistant clarified to the BusinessMirror, that the LRWC and Megaworld casino projects have not yet been issued business or occupancy permits.
“They still need to seek secure an environment compliance certificate [ECC] from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources [DENR] before we issue them the necessary permits to build their casinos,” he said.
He added that, if the DENR doesn’t issue these companies an ECC, “we can’t issue them any business or construction permits.”
With Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo