Gaming | Duterte wants online betting stamped out

New Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte

A gaming research analyst has indicated that Macau’s casinos might benefit from renewed interest soon, after newly elected president Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines said in his first cabinet meeting last week that he wants to stamp out online gambling.
“Online gambling must stop. It’s out of control,” said Duterte just one day after he assumed office, as cited in The Philippine Star. “I would suggest that sometime soon, licenses must be cut.”
Although analysts said that the news was hardly a surprise, the comments did provoke a knee-jerk reaction in Philippine markets. Analysts cautioned not to read too much into the comment unless it is introduced as a policy.
However, following recent reports suggesting that Macau’s gaming downturn could linger well into 2017 or later, a Sanford C. Bernstein analyst says that Duterte’s latest “suggestion” could bode well for Macau’s casinos.
“The latest scrutiny could be a net positive for Macau casinos as these websites have previously targeted gamblers in China,” wrote Bernstein’s Vitaly Umansky in a note to Barron’s Asia.
“More importantly, it is unclear if any new government regulation or legislation could also target proxy betting in the form of online video streams occurring in junket rooms within Philippine casinos. Based on our channel check, Filipino junkets can generally receive a higher commission rate for such gaming activities, in the range of 1.3-2.1 percent of rolling chips,” added Umansky.
Duterte explained that although the government is unable to collect taxes from online betting, that was not his main motivation for seeking to stamp out the practice. “Well not exactly taxes […] I really do not want the proliferation of gambling all over the country,” he emphasized.
The new Philippines’ president has been repeatedly criticized for his brash behavior and controversial statements. He has called for the death penalty to be reinstated and threatened to personally kill drug addicts, as well as encouraging his compatriots to do the same.
Duterte was also criticized last month for apparently endorsing the killings of corrupt journalists. Media groups condemned the statement believing that it could incite more murders in a nation that is already perilous for reporters. DB