State-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) is set to introduce an online casino called “Live Shots” that will cater to Filipino gamblers.
“The one that we have approved so far and might be implemented later this month or early next year is called Live Shots,” Pagcor Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrea Domingo announced during an online forum hosted by Asia Gaming Brief on Wednesday.
Domingo said that, to date, the government-owned firm already approved the Live Shots license of Solaire Resort and Casino, Okada Manila, City of Dreams and a land-based casino in Subic.
The new online gambling platform will be available only in the Philippines, and only the VIP players of licensed casinos will be allowed to play on it, she added.
“We are very strict that only the VIP players, [or those who] are in their player-tracking system [or] registered with them, would be able to play. No minors or any banned personality will be allowed to play. And this is just in the Philippines — at this point in time,” the Pagcor chief said.
She also said casinos that wish to apply for a Live Shots license would have to pay an application fee of P100,000 and give 25 percent of their gross gaming revenue to Pagcor.
According to her, the gambling platform has huge market potential as more gamblers are now choosing online casinos to observe physical distancing protocols amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
“I think it’s bigger than the ones that we have now — the houses that have [a] brick-and-mortar situation — because then they will be able to reach wherever there’s an internet [connection]. People are able to bid…as long as they’re qualified,” Domingo said.
Live Shots can also capture older gamblers who are not allowed to go outside their homes because of the pandemic, she added.
She also expressed optimism that the gaming industry would recover from the effects of the pandemic.
Pagcor saw its net income sink to P132.67 million in the first nine months of 2020, a 97.32-percent plunge from P4.96 billion in the same period a year ago.
“I think it’s getting better. I think by…yearend, we should be able to come up with a positive bottomline…in spite of having been opened only for about four [or] five months at most,” Domingo said.
“[For] 2021, we see that [there are] so many other options that we can go into. So I think [that,] starting the second quarter of 2021, we’ll be doing probably as well as what we did in 2019,” she added.