The $1.2 billion Solaire Manila Resorts (design model above) is one of four gaming operations licensed at Manila’s bayside Entertainment City, a government project designed to compete with Macau, Las Vegas and Singapore as a gaming hub. MANILA, Feb 6, 2013 (AFP) – Casinos were given a free pass as the Philippine parliament Wednesday passed a tougher law against money-laundering but protected the government’s bid to chase mega-dollars in Asia’s gaming boom. The amendments passed by the Senate and House of Representatives apply to businesses other than banks and aim to stop the funneling of proceeds from criminal activity, as well as to block terror funding. They also raise prison terms and fines. However, Senator Teofisto Guingona said casinos and Internet gaming were excluded at the request of the House and of the state regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. “(They) excluded casinos from coverage because (House members) warned it would deter investors. That’s the number one reason. And number two, Pagcor,” Guingona told reporters, referring to the regulator’s abridged name. The Senate’s passage of the law came five weeks before the opening of Entertainment City, an $4 billion Manila casino complex aimed at rivalling Macau, Las Vegas and Singapore as a gaming hub. The latest changes to a 2001 statute are now expected to be signed into law by President Benigno Aquino. Banks were already covered under the 2001 law. The new law’s passage followed a threat last year to blacklist the Philippines unless it assumes greater powers to Read More …
