POGOs will have to pay 5 per cent on gross gaming revenue under the new law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
The Philippines.- The long-awaited bill under which\u00a0Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs)<\/a>\u00a0must pay\u00a05 per cent tax on their gross gaming revenue\u00a0<\/strong>has finally been signed into law by the country’s president. The bill also states that\u00a0foreigners employed in online casinos and their service providers must pay a 25 per cent income tax<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n President Duterte\u2019s spokesperson Harry Roque said the legislation had been approved in order to regulate all forms of legal gambling and to prevent illicit gambling activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, the Philippines\u2019 lower chamber\u00a0tried to impose a 5 per cent franchise tax on overall turnover<\/a>\u00a0for POGOs, but online gambling operators began leaving the country.\u00a0The\u00a0tax changes\u00a0<\/strong>were finally\u00a0suspended in January<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>following a petition to the Supreme Court from foreign gaming groups, but\u00a0<\/strong>they were\u00a0<\/strong>reintroduced in February<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the new bill,\u00a0around 60 per cent of total revenue from POGOs will be assigned for the execution of universal health care programmes\u00a0<\/strong>while 20 per cent of the revenue will be allocated to other health programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government believes\u00a0it could collect PHP13.4bn (US$266.6m) in its first year of implementation<\/strong>\u00a0and PHP32bn in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to PAGCOR\u2019s website, the\u00a0number of POGO licence holders that are currently operating is just 40<\/strong>, compared with 61 before the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government is keen to bring in more revenue due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, but selling Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR)<\/strong>\u2018s own casinos wouldn\u2019t be an option, analysts say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The regulator-cum-operator\u2019s dual role has been a topic of long debate<\/strong> given the potential conflict of interest, and analysts have claimed that that the position is untenable if the Philippines want to establish a world-class gaming industry and regulatory system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, while PAGOR currently operates 40 properties, it does so via leases and doesn\u2019t own the properties themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scott Feeney<\/strong>, director at GCG Gaming Advisory Services, said: \u201cI\u2019m not convinced that investors would be keen on purchasing a lease and then having to compete with the 5-Star developments in Entertainment City or the current and future developments in Cebu and Clark.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nPAGCOR casino sale seen as unviable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n