PAGCOR confirms reopening of some Manila casinos

Approved casinos will be able to operate at 30 per cent capacity while the city remains under General Community Quarantine (GCQ).

Philippines.- The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has confirmed that some casinos in Metro Manila have been allowed to resume operations.

Casinos are being allowed to reopen at 30 per cent capacity on a trial basis. Each operator needs to obtain a permit from the local government in order to approve its reopening.

A PAGCOR spokesperson said to GGRAsia: “Integrated resorts and casinos which obtained permits from their respective local governments are allowed to open on trial run under the strictest health and safety protocols.”

Melco International Development, which half-year results last week, said it had been granted a permit to reopen and was now preparing to resume operations at its City of Dreams venue.

City of Dreams closed on March 16 when Manila entered Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ). In June, Melco was allowed to operate a dry run of its gaming and hospitality operations with a limited number of participants, but that came to an end on August 3 when President Rodrigo Duterte reimposed stricter measures in Metro Manila due to a spike in Covid-19 cases.

Melco said in a release: “City of Dreams Manila is preparing for the resumption of its normal operations in accordance with the terms and conditions of this new guideline.”

On Monday, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID) recommended retaining Metro Manila and two nearby provinces under general community quarantine (GCQ).

Venues in other areas in the country that remain under stricter MECQ may not yet reopen, a PAGCOR spokesperson said.