Pagcor to close down 53 Leisure & Resorts World Corp outlets
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation ordered the closure of 53 electronic gaming and electronic bingo parlours, owned by gaming company Leisure & Resorts World Corp.
The Philippines.- The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) ordered the closure of 53 electronic gaming and electronic bingo parlours owned by gaming company Leisure & Resorts World Corp (LWRC).
Leisure & Resorts World Corp informed the Philippine Stock Exchange that its wholly-owned subsidiaries AB Leisure Exponent Inc. (ABLE) and Total Gamezone Xtreme Inc. (TGXI) received separate notices submitted by PAGCOR to cease and desist their respective operations. According to the regulator, the companies did not complied with the distance restriction guidelines defined in Section 2 of Regulation 3 of the Gaming Site Regulatory Manual. As per Section 2, gaming sites must be 200 meters away from schools and churches.
LRWC declared that after the closure of its 53 e-gaming cafes, revenues and net income foregone up to the end of 2016, as the affected sites are estimated to be P477 million (US$ 10.1 million) and P56.2 million (US$ 1.19 million), respectively, based on historical first seven months of 2016. Leisure & Resorts World Corp’s related operating assets, amount to P190 million (US$4.02 million).
No later than next Tuesday, Leisure & Resorts World Corp will ask PAGCOR to reconsider this decision as a last attempt to save its gaming parlours and the jobs depending on them.
