Gaming Report: Filipino Foreign Secy Creates a Stir by Alleging POGOs Made ‘Under-the-Table’ Payments & More

Controversy has broken out in the Philippines with Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr alleging that Philippine`s offshore gaming operators (POGOs), who owe the government nearly P50 billion in unpaid taxes, made “under-the-table” tax payments to an unnamed collector.

The tenure of the UK Gambling Commission commissioner Stephen Cohen has been extended for another four years, till November 2024.

Social media posts by locals in Vietnam indicate that the live poker scene has taken off in the Hanoi-located Suncity Casino, that recently hosted the country’s first poker tournament.

The same cannot be said for many venues in the US, as casinos in Michigan, Miami, Pittsburgh, etc. have once again closed down after a spike in COVID-positive cases.

Indonesia’s most popular tourist attraction, Bali will be opening doors to international tourists starting September 11.

Kenya has, in the meantime, scrapped the controversial Sports Betting Tax. This was done after the Kenya National Assembly approved the Finance Bill 2020.

Philippines’ Foreign Secy Teodoro Locsin Jr. Alleges POGOs Paid Taxes ‘Under-the-Table’

Last Thursday, Philippines’ Foreign Secretary, Teodoro Locsin Jr, raised quite a furor after tweeting that tax-evading Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) had made “under-the-table” payments.

Locsin. Jr. made this statement while responding to a tweet. He also hinted that the operators have threatened to leave the country because of the stringent tax measures. They pay their taxes through a “collector whose affiliation to any department was kept a mystery,” he said.

The tax-evading POGOs did pay out as you must suspect but under the table which puzzled them. Usually they line up in a revenue office and pay up but this was special: collector whose affiliation to any department was kept a mystery turned up himself like home pick up. https://t.co/FA3z4CtjsB

— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) July 1, 2020

The POGOs reportedly owe close to P50 billion in taxes to the government. Without identifying whom he was referring to as the collector, Locsin Jr. commented that China, where gambling is illegal, “will be ecstatic” if the POGOs exit the Philippines.

Following Locsin Jr’s allegations, two Filipino senators raised the demand for investigations in the matter by the Senate and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Senator Joel Villanueva said, “The statement of Sec. Locsin confirms the illegal activity of POGOs in the country. If they are not paying taxes in BIR, then they are not paying taxes.”

He added, “The BIR should collect unpaid taxes and investigate this ‘unnamed collector’.”

Villanueva chairs the Senate Labor Committee that has earlier conducted hearings into illegal migration by foreign workers, most of whom work for POGO companies.

Senator Francis Pangilinan has also demanded an investigation into the alleged under-the-table payment of taxes by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

Stephen Cohen Reappointed as UKGC Commissioner

Stephen Cohen, who has served as the commissioner for the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) since 2016, has been reappointed for another four years. Cohen’s tenure has been effectively extended until November 2024. His re-election was approved by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS), Oliver Dowden.

Making the announcement earlier this week, the DCMS confirmed that Cohen would be remunerated £295 per day, in compliance with the Cabinet Office’s public appointment governance codes.

Cohen has over 40 years of experience in asset management and corporate finance. He is also one of the board members and a health regulator for the UK’s Health & Care Professions Council. He also serves on audit committee chairs for both JPMorgan Japan Trust plc and Schroder UK Public-Private Trust plc.

Poker Rooms in Vietnam Reopen

With the COVID-19 crisis in control, Vietnam has opened up the poker scene in the country.

We had last reported that the Corona Resort and Casino located at the Phu Quoc Island has resumed operations on May 8. This was after the government permitted all the non-essential businesses to reopen.

It appears that the country recently hosted its first poker tournament. Last weekend, a player, Harry Duong, shared a picture of tournament action taking place at Suncity Casino in Hanoi.

While the image showed players sitting on nine-handed tables, many pointed out that none of the players wore face masks. Many of the commentators did point out that the infection rates in Vietnam are quite low. The country’s borders had shut down as early as late January after news of the novel Coronavirus outbreak first broke out.

As of July 1, Vietnam had reported 369 cases of COVID-19.

However, it’s still unlikely that Vietnam will welcome international players anytime soon. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has given orders to keep the country’s borders closed to international tourists to prevent a second wave of the pandemic in the country.

A Rise in COVID-19 Cases Forces Several US Casinos to Shut Down Again

Most of the casinos across the US shut down through early and mid-March because of the pandemic. Even though several casinos began resuming operations from as early as late April and early May, some of them have been forced to close down again after employees of these establishments tested positive, or after COVID-positive cases shot up in the area surrounding these venues.

According to media reports, Miami’s Churchill Downs’ Calder Casino, Hialeah Park, Casino Miami, and Magic City reopened only to shut down again.

In Michigan, two employees of Legends Diner in Soaring Eagle Casino tested positive for COVID-19. An employee of the Rush Street’s Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh also tested positive, forcing the casino to pull down its shutters for a week.

Meanwhile, the three Phoenix-area casinos owned by the Gila River Indian Community – Wild Horse Pass, Vee Quiva, and Lone Butte that had shut down mid-June but reopened later, have closed down for the second time.

The rising COVID-positive cases have forced casino management to adopt a more stringent stance. Mississippi has ordered all casino guests to wear a facemask. There is widespread speculation that Nevada casinos could be shut down soon as well.

Bali to Reopen International Tourism Starting September 11

Indonesia’s tourist hotspot, the island of Bali, will officially open its gates for international tourism starting September 11. The island’s primary source of income, the tourism industry, has already endured significant losses due to travel restrictions to curb the Coronavirus spread.

On July 5, the Governor of Bali, I Wayan Koster signed a new decree, the ‘New Era of Life Order Protocol’ that seeks a three-phased reopening plan. After a public prayer ceremony held at the Besakih Hindu temple in Karangasem, the governor announced that the island would reopen to tourists with “strict health protocol” in compliance with “new normal” policies.

The planned reopening plan begins July 9, and among the services opening in the first phase would be health services, government offices, customs and religion, traditional markets, modern markets, restaurants, and stalls, etc.

Tourism activities will subsequently begin from July 31 in phase II and will be open for all domestic Indonesian tourists.

The final phase will start on September 11, when the island opens to international visitors. The government is yet to release further details on whether tourists from all countries would be allowed and whether quarantine or testing would be mandatory.

Kenyan Government Scraps Exorbitant Sports Betting Tax

Kenya’s government has scrapped the controversial Sports Betting Tax after the Finance Bill 2020 got the approval from the Kenya National Assembly. The National Assembly’s Finance and National Planning Committee had submitted an amendment to remove the tax as it was included in the Finance Bill. The amendment was approved in the National Assembly before being passed.

Uhuru Kenyatta, the President of Kenya, had signed a bill on July 2 that levied a 20% excise tax on sportsbook turnover.

The tax was first introduced in previous years’ budgets and was increased from 10% to 20% in the Finance Bill last year in September. Later, the Kenyan Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) suspended licenses of two of the largest sports betting operators, SportPesa and Betin, and 25 others because of tax disputes.

On July 2, National Treasury and Planning Cabinet Secretary, Ukur Yatani said, “The players in the industry have been petitioning the government to reduce taxation in the industry.”

Yatani also said that the department is working on a proposal for the National Assembly to reintroduce the sports betting tax, “The removal of this tax happened during the committee stage of the bill…The National Treasury will be proposing to the National Assembly the re-introduction of the excise duty on betting within the next six months.”