Philippines Sets $300 Million Tag for Casinos Outside Manila

The Philippines is open to issuing gambling licenses outside the capital of Manila and plans to require the minimum investment for new casinos at about $300 million to ensure world-class properties are in provincial cities and towns, its gaming regulator said.

“There are areas which I think are very ripe for a casino,” Cristino Naguiat, chairman of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., said in an interview, declining to disclose those locations. The agency is “open to giving out a casino license if it can help boost economic activity and if the people in the area want it. We’re developing a template to ensure that no one would be granted a license unless an investment commitment is made.”