Philippines Deputy House Speaker Rufus Rodriguez has called for the creation of a dedicated Casino Gaming Regulatory Authority to oversee the regulation of the nation’s casinos, leaving PAGCOR to operate the 47 casinos currently under its purview.
Offering a new take on discussions around whether or not PAGCOR’s casino assets should be privatized in order to solve the issue of the organization serving as both an operator and a regulator, Rodriguez warned against such a move due to the income they generate for the government each year.
“I am strongly against privatizing it,” he said according to Philippine News Agency. “So why kill, or more appropriately, why sell the goose that lays the golden eggs?”
Instead, Rodriguez wants a new regulatory body formed – tentatively dubbed the Casino Gaming Regulatory Authority – to independently keep an eye on casino operations nationwide, including both PAGCOR casinos and privately owned casino resorts.
He proposed the creation of a Casino Gaming Regulatory Authority so that PAGCOR could continue to be a gaming-casino operator.
“It’s not fair to businessmen investing in casinos. This situation of PAGCOR being a regulator and a player is not conducive to attracting investments,” he said.
The issue of privatization has again been raised this week, with new PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco, stating that such a move could be the most logical way forward for the Philippines gaming regulator, although he said more time was needed to consider options.
PAGCOR shelved a previous push to privatize its casinos back in 2018 due to the income they were generating for the government at the time.
