Company type | Public |
---|---|
Industry | Casino |
Founded | 1977 |
Headquarters | IMET BPO Tower, Roxas Boulevard, Metropolitan Park, Central Business Park 1-A, Pasay, Metro Manila |
Key people |
|
Number of employees | 11,000+ |
Website | www |
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR, Filipino : Korporasyon sa Libangan at Palaro ng Pilipinas [2] ) is a government-owned and controlled corporation established in 1977 through the Presidential Decree No. 1869. [3] [4] PAGCOR is the Philippines' largest contributor of revenue to the government after the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs.
PAGCOR is under the Office of the President of the Philippines. [5]
The Corporation was created during the Martial Law years by virtue of a Presidential Decree No. 1067-A issued by President Ferdinand Marcos on January 1, 1977, in response to calls for the Philippine Government to put a stop to the growing proliferation of illegal casino operations in various parts of the country then. [6]
After its establishment, PAGCOR entered into a contract with Philippine Casino Operators Corporation (PCOC) for the operation of the floating casino in Manila Bay in 1977. However, after the floating casino was gutted by fire in 1979, PAGCOR shifted its focus to land-based casinos and entered into another contract with PCOC for the management of a casino at the Provident International and Resources Corporation (PIRC) building on Imelda Avenue, Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines. Then, under Presidential Decree No. 1869, decreed in 1983, it was mandated to act as the government corporation conducting and establishing gaming pools and casinos in the country. [3] [4] In 1986, it was re-established and reorganized by Philippine President Corazon Aquino as a new PAGCOR to help raise funds for the government; Norberto Quisumbing was appointed as its first chairman, followed by the former Development Bank of the Philippines Chair Alicia L. Reyes as its Chair and CEO. Reyes was succeeded by Ephraim Genuino under the appointment by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2001.
The firm operates its own casinos and several VIP slot clubs in major cities across the country. It also oversees and regulates privately owned casinos, more than 180 bingo parlors, as well as e-games cafes across the country. [5] The company employs more than 11,000 workers. In June 2007, PAGCOR gained from a piece of legislation, Republic Act No. 9487, which granted the state-run gaming firm, then under the leadership of Chairman Genuino, another 25 years to regulate and operate games of chance, to issue licenses, and to enter into joint venture, management, or investment agreements with private entities for the Entertainment City in the Manila Bay area, Parañaque, and in Newport City, Pasay, in particular. [7] Chairman Genuino successfully attracted investors to the project to put up Las Vegas-style integrated resorts. Two integrated resorts opened on November 1, 2014.
On July 13, 2018, PAGCOR announced the appointment of Angeline Papica-Entienza as the head of the agency's Gaming Licensing and Development Department and as the assistant vice president of the corporation. [8]
PAGCOR announced that it will launch a global-facing online casino in early 2024 under its ‘Casino Filipino’ brand. [9]
As of 2024, PAGCOR is the most profitable state-owned enterprise in the Philippines. [10] : 102 It is the third largest contributor to government revenues, following taxes and customs. [10] : 102
In 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016 started the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) program under PAGCOR to allow online gambling in major cities. [10] : 102 PAGCOR issued licenses to be used for service providers to offer online gambling. [10] : 102 Most of the companies which obtained POGO licenses were Chinese, and their businesses primarily catered to the ethnic Chinese community at-large. [10] : 102
On June 27, 2023, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) commissioned Printplus Graphic Services to create a new logo at a total cost of ₱3,035,714.28. [11] Printplus Graphic Services is owned by Francisco D. Doplon, who currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Art Director of ArtOne Design. Doplon has also worked with various government agencies and private institutions, [12] including the redesign of the logo for the Cultural Center of the Philippines [13] and University of Santo Tomas's logo for its quadricentennial celebration in 2008. [14]
On July 11, 2023, PAGCOR unveiled its new logo in commemoration of its 40th year anniversary. [15] Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco described the logo as incorporating the element of fire, which symbolizes energy, inspiration, passion, and transformation. The logo generated discussions and debates on social media platforms including the similar resemblance of the logo on Petron Corporation. [16] [17]
On April 18, 2024, Atty. Wilma T. Eisma, PAGCOR's first woman President and Chief operating officer took her oath before Lucas Bersamin succeeding Juanito Sanosa Jr. who resigned in January. Eisma served as Director of the Development Bank of the Philippines in 2022 and later, as Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Chairman and Administrator. [18]
Petron Corporation is the largest oil refining and marketing company in the Philippines, supplying more than a third of the country's oil requirements. It operates a refinery in Limay, Bataan with a rated capacity of 180,000 barrels per day (29,000 m3/d). From the refinery, Petron moves its products mainly by sea to 32 depots and terminals throughout the country.
Bay City, also known as the Manila Bay Freeport Zone and Manila Bay Area, is the name for the reclamation area on Manila Bay located west of Roxas Boulevard and the Manila–Cavite Expressway in Metro Manila, the Philippines. The area is split between the cities of Manila and Pasay on the north side and Parañaque on the south.
The PAGCOR Tower was a proposed 650 or 655 m tall observation tower near Manila Bay in Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines. The tower was meant to be constructed as the landmark of the now opened Pagcor City, an integrated leisure area with hotels, shopping malls, convention centers and casinos. If built, it would have been one of the tallest towers in the world.
Baler is a 2008 romantic war film and the official entry of VIVA Films in the 2008 Metro Manila Film Festival, starring Anne Curtis and Jericho Rosales. Its first screening was on December 25, 2008, simultaneously with the rest of the 2008 Metro Manila Film Festival film entries.
Entertainment City, also known as E-City, is a gaming and entertainment complex under development by PAGCOR spanning an area of 8 km2 (3.1 sq mi) in Bay City, Metro Manila. It was first envisioned by PAGCOR in 2002. Alongside the Aseana City business development, it lies at the western side of Roxas Boulevard and south of SM Central Business Park, part of Parañaque.
Carlos Villanueva Magdaluyo was a Filipino businessman. He was influential in the movement to revitalize and nationalize casinos in the Philippine gambling industry.
Solaire Resort & Casino is a resort and casino in Entertainment City, a complex built along the Bay City area of Parañaque, in Metro Manila, Philippines.
James Patrick Romero Bondoc, known professionally as Jimmy Bondoc, is a Filipino musician, songwriter, and lawyer best known for composing his songs Let Me Be The One and Hanggang Dito Na Lang.
Gambling has been present in the Philippines since at least the sixteenth century. Various legal and illegal forms of gambling are found almost all over the archipelago. The government manages gambling through the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) a state-owned enterprise which both operates a number of individual casinos and in turn acts as a regulator to privately owned casino operators. Since 2016 PAGCOR has also granted operating licenses and overseen the regulation of growing online gambling sector serving offshore markets. Casino gambling and integrated resorts have become a key component of the Philippines appeal as a tourist destination with more than twenty casinos found in Metro Manila alone.
Gambling in China is illegal under Chinese law and has been officially outlawed since the Communist Party took power in 1949. Any form of gambling by Chinese citizens, including online-gambling, gambling overseas, opening casinos overseas to attract citizens of China as primary customers, is considered illegal. In practice however, Chinese citizens participate in state-run lotteries, regularly travel to legal gambling centers overseas or in the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau and access gaming through offshore based proxy betting and online gambling companies.
Gambling in Metro Manila has been regulated since 1976 when the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) was created through Presidential Decree 1067. Under its charter promulgated in 1983, the 100% state-owned PAGCOR, running under the direct supervision of the Office of the President, serves three crucial roles: to regulate and operate all games of chance in the country, particularly casino gaming; generate funds for the government's infrastructure and socio-civic projects; and boost local tourism.
William "Butch" Ramirez is a Filipino sports official. Ramirez previously served as chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). Ramirez is the only chairman of the country's sports authority who served for two terms, first from 2005 to 2009 under former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and second is from 2016 to 2022 under President Duterte.
Fontana Leisure Parks, formerly known as the Fontana Hot Spring Leisure Parks & Casino, is a water park and casino situated at the Clark Freeport Zone in Mabalacat, Pampanga, Philippines.
The Resorts World Manila attack was an attack that took place at the Resorts World Manila entertainment complex in Newport City, Pasay, Philippines. 38 were killed and 70 were injured when a gunman caused a stampede after he set fire to casino tables and slot machine chairs around midnight on June 2, 2017. The gunman moved to a storage area to steal casino chips from the venue but later committed suicide following a confrontation with the responding police. Nearly all of the attack's deaths and injuries resulted from the initial stampede and smoke inhalation from the fire.
The Games and Amusements Board (GAB) is the government-ran regulatory body of professional sports in the Philippines.
Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) is the official designation for firms operating in the Philippines which offer online gambling services to markets outside the Philippines.
The employment of Chinese citizens in Philippine firms engaging in offshore gambling known as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) has been a subject of national interest in the Philippines.
Casino Filipino (CF) is a casino chain operated by the state-owned gambling regulator and operator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).
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