Pagcor: Get the Mayor’s Blessing

Here’s an update on the case in Bacolod.  What’s the old cliche? Never fight city hall.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. has clarified that even if authority has been granted them by PAGCOR, Phuture Visions Co. Inc., the company owned by the sons of Rep. Monico Puentevella, will not be able to operate bingo games without a Mayor’s Permit.

In her letter dated March 21, 2007, Margarita Bangi, Pagcor Bingo Department managing head, said they will wait for the decision of the court on the case involving the closure of the bingo outlet of PVI at SM City mall in Bacolod City, before acting on the request of the city government. Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia had written PAGCOR chairman and chief executive officer Efraim Genuino on Feb. 23 informing him that his office did not issue to PVI, that is being operated by the family of Puentevella, the Mayor’s Certificate of No Objection, which is a requirement for the conferment of provisional Grant of Authority to operate bingo games at SM-Bacolod.

He informed PAGCOR that PVI has not been issued the Mayor’s Permit as it had not even applied for its issuance. He also requested PAGCOR to recall or revoke the provisional GOA to operate traditional bingo games obtained by PVI “for want of a Mayor’s Certification of No Objection” and for failure to secure a Mayor’s Permit within 30 days from notice of such provisional grant.

The More the Merrier

Asia has woken up to the potential of gambling. With affluent societies becoming more tolerant of what some still regard as an activity tainted by Mafia and Triad involvement, the race is on to outdo Las Vegas. What else will Asia’s middle class spend their money on when they already have their cramped apartments chock-full of appliances and gadgets?

Singapore’s media is asking whether the IRs (integrated resorts) being planned at Sentosa Island and Marina Bay can cope with the competition that will arise as Japan, Taiwan, and several other countries legalize casinos.   

With roulette wheels spinning and jackpot machines already whirring in casinos throughout a dozen Asian countries, the inevitable question that springs to mind is: Will there be enough well-heeled customers to feed the industry as more Las Vegas-style super casinos go up in new locations?

The question arises with the distinct possibility of luxury casino complexes coming up in Tokyo and the southern island region of Okinawa by 2012, as Japan moves closer to an overhaul of its strict gambling laws.

Taiwan is also considering lifting its ban on casinos, while Thailand is also seen as likely to relax its gaming laws in the coming years, an AFP report said on Sunday.

Everything But Pacific

It was a great bet, if you could get your broker to take your money.

Shares of Pacific Online Systems Corp. , the exclusive operator of lotto outlets in the Visayas and Mindanao regions, had a rip-roaring ride, jumping almost 50% in their debut on the Philippine Stock Exchange. The stock went from its IPO price of P8.88 to P13.25.

The company sold 39.8 million shares to investors (it has 191 million shares in total). With the first-day rise of P4.37 per share, the people who were able to get any of the 39.8 million up for grabs are now collectively P174 million pesos richer. Not bad.

Pacific Online president Willie Ocier attributed the company’s successful public offering to its growth potential. “I think the reason why the stock performed very well is because of the belief of the investing public that we are a growth company. We are hopeful that the new products that will be offering will contribute to the growth of the company,” Ocier told reporters following the listing ceremony for Pacific Online shares.

The exciting thing for gamblers are the new games forthcoming:

Power Lotto is similar to current lotto games but a ticket is priced higher at P50 and the jackpot price worth P50 million. EZ 2 is a two-digit game aimed at competing with local jueteng while Keno is the marathon lottery game.

The state-owned Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office is evaluating the new gaming products.

Ocier said Keno, the fastest-growing lottery game in Australia, would be launched by the second half of the year. Pacific Online plans to set up 200 parlor sites for Keno within the year at a cost of some P30 million.  

Casino Workers of the World, Unite

What happens when there’s a sunrise industry with more jobs than workers that’s situated only an hour’s flight away from a trained workforce only too willing to leave the Motherland? You get an exodus.

The company with a mega-sized HR headache is Pagcor, according to columnist Boo Chanco.  Don’t forget it’s not just Macau that will draw on Asia’s casino professionals. On the horizon is the city-state of Singapore, which has its own ambitions of becoming Asia’s Las Vegas (look at the want ads in Singapore and you’ll spot companies promising to train you for the lucrative jobs that will come when the hotel-casinos open next year).

A Deutsche Bank study of Cotai, one such new development, notes that Macau only has a population of 450,000. “When the Cotai Strip is fully developed, the area itself can potentially employ over 120,000 people, according to Las Vegas Sands.”

There goes the staff of Pagcor! There is supposed to be a gentleman’s agreement that prevents casinos in Macau from pirating staff from Pagcor, but given the higher wages and benefits here, I am sure those who want to work here will find a way around it. I heard Pagcor had lately been deluged with resignations and applications for early retirement from among the most experienced of its staff.

Pagcor’s loss will be the nation’s gain… more OFWs sending precious dollars home. I am told that right now, there are at least 15,000 immediate openings for gaming professionals in Macau. Since we are the most proximate nation with trained gaming professionals, we are a natural source of manpower to fill in the need.

Maybe Efraim Genuino should have been allowed to put up his Pagcor Academy after all. The Pagcor chief once upon a time proposed that such a training center be established to fill in the manpower needs of Pagcor itself. But it was opposed by the usual suspects who have problems with gambling being here at all. Now, it may be too late to satisfy Pagcor’s needs as it hemorrhages its staff to Macau casinos.

The Law Taketh, the Law Giveth

Across the pond that we call the Pacific, in the heartland of America, the state of Kansas passed a bill that would allow the construction of casinos, one in each of four “gaming zones.”

The bill also would allow resort-style “destination” casinos to be constructed in southeast Kansas near Pittsburg, near Wichita and in Dodge City. Slots would be allowed at existing horse and dog racetracks.

The bill began as a reauthorization of the Kansas Lottery. During debate in the House, provisions allowing state-owned casinos and slots at dog and horse tracks were added.

The casinos would be owned by the Kansas Lottery, which would contract with private companies to manage each casino. The manager could be an Indian tribe, the bill says. The state lottery and the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission would be responsible for all oversight and regulation.

Like other gaming measures, the hope is the new measure will attract tourists, and  revenues from gambling will help Kansas cover its expenses.

“This is an opportunity for our state to generate out-of-state dollars from visitors, to reinvigorate Kansas agribusinesses raising horses and greyhounds and to maximize state revenue while maintaining strict regulatory oversight,” Sebelius said in the news release.

In casinos, at least 22 percent of the gambling revenue will go to the state. The bill dictates 40 percent of slot machine revenue will end up in state coffers.

Meanwhile, one of the U.S. laws passed last year making it illegal to make payments for online gambling was declared illegal by the WTO. Don’t hold your breath waiting for the law to be overturned, though. Better to save up money and drive to Kansas. 

The U.S. ban on offshore Internet gambling payments is illegal, the World Trade Organization said yesterday, upholding a decision that allowed for sanctions.

The WTO said the United States ignored the previous ruling, which challenged the U.S. ban on payments to gambling Web sites while allowing bets on its own soil.

Antigua and Barbuda, a Caribbean nation with about 70,000 people, challenged U.S. government efforts to close the estimated $12 billion worldwide business to U.S. residents, who accounted for half the market. Last October, the U.S. government banned credit card companies from processing payments to betting sites such as SportingBet and Empire Online, which then ceased U.S. operations or sold them for nominal amounts.

Here’s the impact on the tiny Caribbean nation’s economy of UIGE:

Income for the 32 registered online casinos in Antigua and Barbuda has fallen to $130 million a year, from $1 billion in 2000, the Antiguan government said. The country developed online gambling to boost a tourism-dependent economy after several hurricanes in the 1990s.