Bloomberg – Macau casino mogul Lawrence Ho said gambling revenue in the Philippines “could easily” double to $4 billion in a couple of years, setting the stage to challenge Singapore as Asia’s second-biggest gaming hub.
To ensure success, the Philippines will have to decide how to tax casino developers and operators, Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (MPEL) co-Chairman Ho said in an interview in Manila yesterday. In April, the nation’s tax bureau ordered all casino operators to pay income tax on their gaming earnings, removing an exemption provided for by the licenses given to four operators developing casinos in the capital.
The Philippines issued casino permits in 2008 to 2009 for Pagcor City, a gaming and entertainment strip along Manila Bay set up to compete with Macau and Singapore. The licensees, including Melco Crown’s venture with Philippine billionaire Henry Sy, must each invest at least $1 billion. The first casino, the $1.2 billion Solaire Manila, opened in March and Melco Crown’s City of Dreams Manila will start operating in mid-2014.
The Philippines overtaking Singapore’s gaming market is “within striking distance” and “doable,” said the 36-year-old son of Macau gambling tycoon Stanley Ho. “A lot of it would depend on how regulators and government support this industry.”
The Philippine gaming market is about $2 billion now, Ho said. Singapore’s casinos had gross gaming revenue of $5.9 billion last year, a sixth the size of Macau’s $38 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
