Pagcor may revoke gaming firm’s license

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), the state-owned gaming regulator, said it could cancel the license of Tiger Resorts Leisure and Entertainment, Inc., the company led by Japanese gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada, if it is proven that the company or its affiliate bribed regulators.

“Pagcor reiterates that while a license for the operation of a casino facility in the Entertainment City has already been issued in favor of Tiger Resorts Leisure and Entertainment, Inc., the state-owned gaming agency can still cancel… (it if) proven that they have indeed resorted to bribery in order to secure the license,” Pagcor said in a statement yesterday.

However, it said it would observe due process.

Pagcor said that if Okada’s group will be proven beyond reasonable doubt that they violated Philippine laws and fail to comply with the provisions of the license issued to them, they cannot commence their casino operations.

Okada’s Tiger Resort is one of four investor groups given a license to operate a casino in Pagcor’s much-touted Entertainment City. The three others are Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global, Enrique Razon’s Bloomberry Resorts and Henry Sy’s Belle Corp.

Reuters reported last week that an Okada-led subsidiary made a $5-million payment in May 2010 to former Pagcor consultant Rodolfo Soriano to secure the license for Pagcor’s Entertainment City.

According to the Reuters report, Soriano is a close associate of former Pagcor head Efraim Genuino.

It is still not clear whether Okada, ranked by Forbes as 18th among Japan’s wealthiest people, personally knew of or approved the payments.

In its statement, Pagcor said the regulator only learned of the supposed payment from news reports.

It has sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation to find out the veracity of this report and to get to the bottom of the alleged payoff.

Furthermore, it said that it welcomes the new allegation of corruption unearthed by US investigators against former officials of the gaming agency.

“It will help Pagcor to further strengthen its plunder case against Soriano and Genuino which we filed last 2011,” Pagcor said.

The case pertains to the misappropriation of at least P186 million in relation to questionable transactions that benefited the Batang Iwas Droga Foundation, Inc. and other BIDA entities from 2003 to 2010.

Under Genuino’s management, Pagcor allegedly entered into irregular deals with BIDA Foundation, which did not go through public bidding.

This covered procurement of goods and services for BIDA, financial subsidies and grants to the foundation and advertisement on various radio and television networks, all paid for by Pagcor. – With Aurea Calica, Christina Mendez, Helen Flores