PAGCOR stops e-gaming operations of Leisure & Resorts World

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) has ordered Leisure and Resorts World Corp. (LRWC) to stop the electronic gaming and bingo operations of two subsidiaries for not heeding regulatory guidelines.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, LRWC said PAGCOR sent notices to AB Leisure Exponent Inc. (ABLE) and Total Gamezone Xtreme Inc. (TGXI) to immediately stop operating 36 electronic bingo and 17 electronic games sites.

The gaming regulator cited ABLE and TGXI for not complying with the distance restriction guidelines defined in Section 2 of Regulation 3 of the Gaming Site Regulatory Manual.

Under Section 2, gaming sites must be 200 meters away from schools and churches.

In a separate disclosure release on Friday, Leisure and Resorts told the exchange that "Revenues and net income foregone up to the end of 2016 for the affected sites are estimated to be P477 million and P56.2 million, respectively, based on historical first seven months of 2016.

"These numbers approximate 5 percent of total consolidated 2015 revenues and net income of the LRWC Group.

"The related operating assets amount to 190M as of 31 July 2016," the company said.

Earlier, President Rodrigo Duterte said he was willing to allow online gambling if correct taxes are paid and gaming parlors are far from schools and churches.

LRWC will send a letter of reconsideration to PAGCOR not later than Tuesday, September 13.

"We will still wait for the PAGCOR’s reply to our request for reconsideration before we could set our timetable for the resumption of operations of the affected sites. We could not anticipate the exact date on when PAGCOR will answer our request," the company said. — Ted Cordero/VDS, GMA News