Makati City In Philippines Limits Online Casino Licenses
- Applications for Philippine offshore gaming operator licenses will no longer be accepted.
- City officials believe that the allowing of so many licenses has increased crime in Makati City.
- A housing bubble is also the reason why applications have ceased.
LAS VEGAS – Makati City officials have stopped issuing Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) licenses on Sunday.
Cracking Down On Crime
These POGO licenses allowed legal gambling operators to exist in an online space in the Philippines. Now that the local government has stopped handing out licenses, no more operators can join the market. The main reason for this is to crack down on local crime.
“We would no longer accept new applications for POGO service providers, and crack down hard against illegal activities that are catering to POGOs and their employees within Makati,” said Abby Binay, mayor of Makati City.
City officials believe that various crimes, prostitution, and kidnappings are happening due to the number of POGO licenses handed out. Until the Philippine government can get a handle on these crimes, no more of these licenses will be rewarded.
An Unstable Housing Market
That is not all. There is also worries that POGOs are creating a housing bubble that will soon burst. Workers under POGO licenses are moving to Makati City in droves. This has dramatically increased the demand for housing and offices around the city.
Due to the demand being higher than the supply, retail property prices are being increased at a dramatic rate. Lower quality housing options and offices are increasing in price. If demand keeps on increasing, the housing bubble will burst and will do massive economic harm to the city.
It is currently unknown when the city and country will allow for more POGO licenses to be awarded. First, the country will need to get a handle on local crimes and the unstable housing market. But there is no guarantee that more POGO licenses will be rewarded after both of these issues are resolved.