Stricter policy on casinos

Billionaire Enrique Razon Jr. is leading the venture around the area where the once prestigious Puerto Azul Golf and Country Club in the municipality of Ternate is located.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange last week, Razon’s Bloomberry Resorts Corp. said it had signed an agreement with landowners to acquire 279 hectares in the area for P7.5 billion. Bloomberry is the operator of the Solaire Resort and Casino, one of the four gaming and resort complexes allowed by the government in the Entertainment City and the first to open in 2013.

Entertainment City is a Las Vegas like gaming and entertainment center proposed in 2007 by the state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) on a 100-hectare reclamation area with a view of Manila Bay. Investments in the project were earlier estimated to reach up to $15 billion, all coming from private companies.

The site has been declared an economic zone to entice investors with various tax incentives. Initially set back by opposition mainly from the Church, the Entertainment City was projected to catapult the Philippines as one of the world’s biggest gambling centers, joining the ranks of Macau, Singapore, and Las Vegas.

Source: https://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/stricter-policy-casinos-1503075383.html