Dr Jack Lam, the first Macau VIP junket operator allowed to run a Macau casino in his own right, is reportedly considering a shake up of his online betting business operated from the Philippines.
Sources suggest Dr Lam, Chairman of Jimei Group, is considering relocating his Internet trade to Cambodia for tax purposes. The reported reason is that on occasion he is being asked to pay supplementary taxes on his online betting operation over and above the 10% of the gross previously agreed with the Philippines government. Some sources suggest the business turns over the equivalent of more than USD100 million per month.
The online and remote betting business is currently located at Clark Freeport Zone on the site of a former US Air Force base in central Luzon in the Philippines. It uses an online licence issued by the Philippines government. The country is currently the only jurisdiction in Asia to regulate formally the online gaming business and to issue licences for the online industry.
Whether the suggested operational move to Cambodia will mean that country setting up its own regulatory system for online betting, or whether Dr Lam would be treated as a special case, isn’t clear at this stage.
